So, I've been a bad blogger and not posted anything for two-and-a-half months. Shame, shame. I keep seeing all these fantastic blogs that I love and dreaming that mine was just as fabulous. I saw a woman on the Food Network the other day that had an entire blog where she discussed food and current recipes she had tried. I think that maybe that would be some good motivation for me to actually get used to writing in this thing; a theme. I'm obsessed with recipes! I have tons of cookbooks and still look up new ones on the internet all the time. So, maybe if I write about what I'm cooking it'll double motivate me, 1. to cook more, 2. to write more! We'll have to see how this works out!
Since I am super behind on posting I have to catch everyone up on our current lives. I am now working for TISD as a substitute to finally determine if I want to be a teacher once and for all. I've been tossing around the idea of teaching for about ten years now and always find reasons to talk myself out of it. I was an education major for three years and got freaked out and changed my major right before my senior year started. When I was sitting in the dark corner of my office at the hospital I started thinking about it again. The bright bulletin board walls of a classroom were such a stark contrast to my dark 'office' and being able to interact with people all day instead of typing numbers into a computer sounded really appealing. So, when I quit the hospital that was my idea, to get my certification and go back to teaching. Fast forward a couple of months and I was freaked out again, and managed to talk myself out of it AGAIN! I am entirely too indecisive! I need to hire someone to just make decisions for me and encourage me that I can do it.
I decided that most of the reason I get freaked out is because I'm unsure that I can control a room of 20 kids without having them mutiny against me. I came to the conclusion that working as a sub would test my abilities. I am fully aware that kids treat subs way worse than they treat regular teachers, so if I could handle subbing, maybe I would be more sure of myself and prepared for a regular classroom. So far I think it is going pretty well. Thankfully I got to start off kind of slow and easy by working the first two weeks at the new, shiny, magnet-type school. The kids were wonderful and I actually felt like I was doing something! I got to teach real lessons and the kids listened to me and did what I said. Definitely a huge boost of confidence! Yesterday I finally got my chance to work at one of the not-so new and shiny schools is a worse neighborhood and quel surprise I made it through the day and I and 19 kids all survived! We'll see how this story plays out over time.
My new quandary, what level of teaching to become certified for. I always assumed I would be an elementary teacher, that's what my major had been, but now I have doubts about that. Imagine that, me have doubts about something!! When I was doing my paperwork for the school district the HR person suggested that I look into getting my 4-8 certification. This had literally never crossed my mind. I looked up the qualifications and I meet the requirements, I'm just not so sure about teaching middle schoolers. They scare me. I could handle grades 4-6, but 7 & 8, yikes. I get nervous when people start getting taller than me!! Although, if the kids were well behaved, the curriculum appeals more to me. I might even be able to teach history, which would be awesome. More thinking and praying to be done on that front.
This is entirely too long, so I'll stop now. Hopefully I'll post again soon!
Jennifer
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William Arthur Ward
This is my prayer, that as a teacher I would not only teach something to those I come in contact with, but inspire them to be something greater.
