I heart teaching.

Do you love your job? I do.

No, not on days like my last day of spring break when I graded for like 8 hours. Or when people tell me how lazy teachers are - how we have short hours and get the summers off and hardly do any work. (You know these people - the ones who think that since they've been through the public school system they know what it's like to teach?) (And yes, that happened.) I also don't like it that policy makers focus so much on test scores that don't really show a depth of what kind of child is taking said test.

That aside, here's what I do love:

Working with awesome people who take initiative to get things done for the good of everyone. 
One person on my team is designing a graduation T-Shirt for the team. Someone else is creating all the schedules for the hectic week of state testing. Another is extending book clubs into his social studies classes with historical fiction texts. Another is planning a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry and figuring out what kind of projects they will do with all of the video they take while they are there. No one asked anyone to do anything. It just gets done and it works. Love working with the driven, motivated, fun people I do.


Having a community circle with my homeroom at the end of the day every Friday.
You wouldn't think so, but even 8th graders like to gather together on the carpet that is center of my room. We usually meet here to read and talk about books, but every Friday, we have a circle to share appreciations and highs and lows. I never have to tell them to do this - they ask for it every week, and sometimes before Friday. I usually get the gossip during this time and we solve problems, too. Yesterday, one of my girls apologized to another for a disagreement they had a week ago. I cherish this time with my homeroom!

Coaching volleyball.
I coached cheerleading for years. It's fun, but I have LOVED coaching volleyball, especially with the boys. I've never had brothers, so it's been enlightening being in a position where I don't have to focus so much on classroom management and discipline, and we have more opportunity to have fun together. The boys I'm currently coaching have been my students for two years, so let's just say that they feel comfortable talking to me about things like.....farting. One boy told me the other day that, "I drop bombs in science, but it's only an air strike in your class."

But back to the coaching - I've seen so much progress with the kids I have. My six starters can play - setting each other up for plays and really talking to each other on the court. My other kids who are new to volleyball are making so much progress! They are getting their overhand serves down and taking constructive feedback from the other members of the team. It's so great that we have not only one coach, but 11 - each member of the team, to help us improve.

End of 8th grade.

This is my second loop with 7th-8th graders. The end of 8th grade is always hectic, but we get to do so much. Presentation speeches where they address all their classmates and their families. Our "you-can-change-the-world" action research projects where students study a cause and then complete a service project to raise awareness or money for it. Class trip to Six Flags and Springfield. Class picnic and finally, graduation. It's so hard to believe that two years can pass in the blink of an eye, but they do. I will forever remember these kids, and plan on savoring all of the moments for the last eight weeks we have together.

Continuing to improve my practice.
Teaching is awesome because you always get to start fresh. The year comes to an end, you reflect, and you can improve. It's dynamic - you don't have to continue doing the same thing year in and year out. You start as a classroom teacher just trying to get management down, and once you do, you improve your instruction. Once you see growth with that, you can consider other positions. I'm thinking an admin degree is probably next for me. Not looking forward to writing papers for another Master's program, but I can't see myself doing the same thing for 20 more years. So, looks like I'll be back at school next fall. New experiences, new people, new things to learn.

Love this profession. Do you feel the same about yours?