AAAAAAAAAAAAND We're OFF!!!

I know it sounds like I'm at a race, and sometimes teaching feels like a race to me, but really, the title of this post is meant to indicate that school is well in session! In case it's been forever since you've talked to me, let me express to you once again, that I LOVE my job! Part of the reason for this is that I have taught at great schools. Part of the reason for this love is that I enjoy teaching math. Part of the reason for this is that I really enjoy teaching young adolescents. And part of the reason I love my job is because I have found my calling...what I should be doing with my life to make a difference in the world.

So this year is a pivotal year for me...I have a 6th grader in my house, who also goes to my school. I am enjoying taking him with me each day. I am frequently surprised when I round a corner in the building and run into him or look up from my desk and catch him walking into my room. I seem to forget that he's there, in my building, until I see him and my heart beats a little faster and I smile a little bigger every time he comes into my line of sight! The year that I was in 8th grade, and my mom taught 8th grade was the year that she quit teaching for several years. It seemed like she couldn't handle 8th graders with bad attitudes all day and then come home to an 8th grader with a bad attitude in the evening. So I'm hoping that my son and I don't experience anything like that this year. Overall, though, I think we've gotten off to a great start.

My students are really good kids this year. I teach roughly 100 students every day. By this time last year (and years prior) I had figured out exactly who's home I would be calling on a regular basis. I had already sent out several students with behavior reflection folders by now, and was fighting the urge to tell my husband that we had done our children a terrible disservice by bringing them into a world where they would have to live along side people like my students. I know, it sounds awful, but behavior problems in the classroom can really make a teacher feel beat down and can also cause him or her to lose faith in humanity. Well, this year I have not had to send out ANYONE with behavior reflection folders yet, and have only had to warn and/or isolate 2 boys (only for talking...not being nasty middle schoolers!). As selfish as this may sound, I am excited to think that this may be a year when I get to teach and care about my students, and just enjoy them! This kind of year is one of the things that keep teachers hanging on when we have four or five years of difficulty strung together.

I've had some funny moments, but none of them translate well into stories you can read, so I'll save the funny stories for my next post. Until then, I'm off to spend some time with my family and plan for doing the best job ever!