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| This is LITERALLY my face EVERY SINGLE TIME! |
Hello there and welcome to the newest section of my blog, known as "Lifestyle"! If you had not noticed by the title of this post, I am a teacher! It still feels weird to say, especially when I am commonly mistaken as a student at my school, but yes, I am a teacher. This post is long overdue, considering I am at the half way point of my first year of teaching, but it is FINALLY HERE! After just my first day of school I knew that I wanted to add this section to my blog. There is so much that I want to share and need to say as I embark on this new chapter and adventure of life, which has already offered many lessons to who I am as a person. If my blog is going to contain the most important parts of my life, I can not omit my career, as it is becoming the majority of my days. I hope that this section can be beneficial to all the teachers out there, new and veteran, as I share my classroom with you. Before I get started on the sharing, let me school you on my current teaching situation (while you enjoy a few extremely relate-able teacher memes along the way)!
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| I am a label-er and ALL labels must be LAMINATED! |
I graduated with a degree in multi-categorical K-12th Special Education in May of 2015 and got a job teaching sixth grade resource at a middle school in my home town. I am currently learning and implementing inclusive rpractices in an English and a math class, then have two periods on my own in my classroom, providing individualized instruction in the areas of math, reading, and writing. Gosh, just typing that made me feel so "teacher-y"! Don't worry, the transition from being the student to the teacher is still happening, so I wont always be so surprised by my teacher moments, but that transition will never be fully complete. As I said before, I am learning so much EVERYDAY!
Middle school was one of the worst times for me, especially 6th grade. I hated everything about it and was beyond ready to get out of there, but I am back and it's not so bad after all (especially being on the other side). Not much as changed as far as the mentality of 11-13 year old beings. They are at that awkward age where they still need you, but don't want to admit it because they are too consumed with pre-teen and teenage problems. Although most people run for the hills when presented with a job in a middle school, I gladly welcome the challenge of dealing with the attitudes, hormones, drama, and the sometimes ridiculous teenage mindset. I wanted to be a listening ear for my students; someone who would not dismiss them because of their age. I wanted to reassure them that their thoughts, feelings, and cares matter to someone, no matter how ridiculous they may sound out loud. I wanted to impact a younger generation in a powerful way and provide them with wisdom that they can take with them forever, even if they don't understand it at the time.
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| Faculty meetings, IEP meetings, cluster meetings, induction teacher meetings, meetings about future meetings...meetings! |
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| And then there are the QUESTIONS at all of the meetings! And don't forget the follow up email from SOMEBODY, asking ANOTHER question! |
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| No name, NO grade! |
I had all of these ideas going into my first year of how I was going to make a difference in the world, impact the younger generation in a positive way, and have amazing bonds with my students. I am proud to say, ALL of the above is happening, but it definitely is not happening over night as I expected and wanted it to. Everything I do with my students takes time. The growth, the change, the bonds, the respect- it is all a process and I am loving almost every minute of it. There have been times where I felt overwhelmed, doubtful, pessimistic, and just plain ol tired. But, there have been A LOT more moments when I feel proud, loved, excited, joyful, encouraged, and special because of my children and their unique personalities.
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| Waaaayyyyyyyy to relate-able! |
Even if you are not a teacher, I would suggest checking this section out from time to time. Every experience in life is a learning experience, even if that means learning from other people. You never know, you may discover a missed calling of your own! ;)
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| Reading is fundamental and so are DIRECTIONS! |
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| And to finish them off, the BEST one yet! I is a teacher! |
Indulge in following along my teaching journey, as I learn more than I teach!
xo,
BLT
