Sunday, November 30, 2003

My goodness...

A month!?!?

I've been away for a month?!?

*blinking in disbelief*

I promised to update this site, didn't I?

I have the pages ready to roll somewhere on my harddrive.

Well, I've been up to no good in the meantime.

Nearly finished applying to my top four Teachers' Colleges. The deadline's tomorrow Wish me luck.

Recently I found the Calendario Romano site. I've been curious about Catholicism for a while, thanks to friends and family in the faith. The priests @ Calendario are almost enough to make a girl wanna convert.

Almost.

@ school, the kids want me to take part in their final presentation of the year. I love 'em, so therefore, I accepted their offer.

Devils. ;-)

One thing I can't handle: snobbery--or what I will now call cruel and illogical behavior--between students. I encountered a "situation" this past Thursday. I felt so frustrated. The only thing that's frustrated me more thus far has been their apparent loathing of books.

Books! Of all things!

Why? Because they're not as flashy or shiny or "cool" as the internet or video games? *Ms. N rolls her eyes*

Many of today's youth need to learn to appreciate the finer things in life--and by "finer things", I'm talking about the gift of literacy.

Later.

Saturday, November 01, 2003

Ain't Misbehavin'. But the Kids Are...

It's been a long time. I'm sorry I haven't written.

The revelations about my new profession keep coming. Forget my students. These days I've been preoccupied with the ways that teaching will change me.

I had a fabulous conversation Friday with one of my teacher-mentors. I was recovering from a situation I was involved in on Wednesday. Long story short, I confronted a student who (it seemed) had tried to...for now I'll say "bother"....me. I was not impressed. Quite frankly, none of the students had ever ruffled my feathers before. I wondered if I was losing my mind.

If you learn nothing else from me, consider this: You say you want to be a teacher? Fine. Get permission to volunteer at a school. Observe as many classes as you can. Make sure the students are @ the age you're interested in teaching. If you're lucky like me, you'll have a colleague who'll put you in a class with some "bad" students. Take it from me, you need to see everything. After all, if you're really interested in a teaching career, you should know what goes on. You need to know the real deal. The lame homework excuses, the insolence, the way students pick on each other without shame, the noise, the nastiness, the nonsense. EVERYTHING.

Because no matter how many fantasies you have about the kiddies kneeling at your feet while you read them Keats, there is always reality. And the reality is, that unless you're hella lucky, chances are you'll have students that'll do their best to get the best of you. Sometimes a whole class full of 'em. You may be tempted to scream, swear, and spit. Sometimes all at once.

Nothing beats working with students in their natural habitat. Not camp counseling, not teaching Sunday School--nothing.

The decision to be a teacher shouldn't be taken lightly. The least you can do for yourself is figure out whether or not you're going to making a mistake. Because quite frankly, with the crap I've seen, if I was a different person, I would be turned off.

Getting back to my story...I didn't foam at the mouth or anything. But I started questioning myself. I didn't ask whether or not I ought to be a better teacher. Rather, I'm concerned about how to keep my cool when my students try to make things hot. I can't sit in silence and let them get to me. At the same time, I can't shriek at them for every little thing.

So I am left, contemplating my destiny as a disciplinarian.

And in the meantime...I'm going to try and get a thicker skin.