Thirteen years of teaching. It's hard to imagine. I have learned an incredible amount since those first days, and this year was no different. Some of the lessons have been hard, some humorous. Here goes.
Lesson #1: As positive and wonderful as a good teacher can be for a child, a bad parent has an exponentially greater potential for damage in a child. It breaks my heart and makes me angry to see parents who seem to have little time to put into their child's academic development. The pats on the back, positive words and high fives that I give to these children in my 55 minute class often can do little to undo the years of neglect and unkindness that a parent may have heaped on a child. I wish everyone understood that.
Lesson #2: Many eighth grade boys are walking bags of hormones with liberal doses of scatological humor mixed in. I'll never be able to speak or hear the following words/phrases with the same mind set again:
- beaver
- tap
- Black Hawk (say it fast)
- General Hooker
- score
- ball
- bang
- nail
- poll
- duty
Lesson #4: Having a great group of colleagues, many of whom you can also call friends, is also essential. I am so lucky to work with so many people that make me a better teacher and a better person. They are the kind of people I don't mind hanging out with anytime. They make me laugh hysterically, even when I don't feel like I have anything to laugh about.
Lesson #5: Learn to say "no." I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping others. I find it hard to say "no" when someone asks me to help out. I am working on it. I cut myself enough "mental slack" to say no to more than one after school activity this year and made more time for stuff I want to do. I don't regret it one bit.
Lesson #6: Two of the best pieces of advice I ever got as a pre-service teacher truly made a difference this year. The first piece of advice was that its important to forgive yourself, "today is the first day of the rest of your career." As we humans are prone to do, I made some mistakes. I forgive myself and strive to be a better person and teacher tomorrow. The second piece of advice was to pick and choose one's battles. I am not the kind of teacher who hunts down kids for gum or other minor rule infractions that probably 90% of us broke at some point in our own childhoods. I don't have the energy to put into it. I put my energy into teaching and having as much fun as I can while doing it. My behaviorally challenging kids this year reminded me that some battles really don't matter all that much in the long run.
Lesson #7: When all else fails, a good glass of Merlot or Pinot Grigio is a great mental salve at the end of the day. Or a mani-pedi. Or both.
