It has been a long while since I wrote.
Such is the life of a teacher. Once the start of school approaches, all else fades to black.
But here I am, nearing the end of the first week.
And I made it. Made it long at last.
And it is good.
I think about fresh starts at the start of the school year. Clean slates. Freshly sharpened pencils. A new beginning.
Appropriately, on the second day of school it rained. Precious water poured from the sky and hasn't really stopped since. To many, rain is all doom and gloom. But in a city that hasn't seen substantial rain in what I have heard is well over a year... the rain is a glorious prize. And to my husband, it brings hope that the water restrictions will end soon and he can wash his car and water our lawn whenever he wants.
I teach 8 year olds now. And 10 year olds. And that funky year in between, the 9 year olds. Shocking to me, but maybe not to others, is that 9 and 10 year olds are not really all that different from the 12/13 year olds I used to have. They are simply packaged in smaller bodies. And they don't rattle on about the Jonas Brothers (which I was okay with when it happened because it meant they were sharing something they loved with me, and I loved that).
I feel confident. And I feel thankful. Thankful for 2 prior years of teaching experience at my old school. Thankful for the amazing professor, mentor and friend who gently guided me in the direction of teaching Latin. Thankful for getting to teach with her, learn from her- and many other very capable Latin teachers- who have filled my mind and my repetoire with many good teaching strategies and ways to make Latin engaging. Thankful for teaching at a school which allowed me to grow and mature as a teacher. Mind you, I still have much growing to do and much learning to do about being a teacher, but those 2 years and even that pesky and simultaneously helpful institute I had to attend this summer have prepared me to begin my 3rd year of teaching. My 3rd year which is a lot like a first year in that I am at a new school, teaching a different age group, and a different curriculum. But this time I started with confidence and excitement and that has made all the difference from a brand new college graduate rookie teacher and a 3rd year rookie teacher.
I am thankful for all the encouragement I have recieved.
The teachers who have told me that their students have had nothing but good things to say about me: Mrs. B is so cool. Mrs. B rocks. I like Latin. So on and so on.
The students who asked their classroom teacher if I could stay just a little bit longer... to talk about Latin.
The parents who have stopped me as I walked by their car to tell me that all they heard about on the first day was how awesome that new Latin teacher is.
The teachers who are also parents whose kids I teach who have told me in the teacher workroom: My child adores you. All he (HE! A BOY! A BOY STUDENT WHO LIKES ME!) talked about was Latin.
The school nurse who stopped me on the sidewalk and said, "I heard you're an amazing teacher."
I say all this not to toot my own horn or brag about how awesome I am. I say it here because I am shocked. I am humbled. I never thought, I never imagined that I could teach and do it well. I say it here because there are many days, many times when these compliments bolster my confidence and keep me going when I feel most discouraged. I say it here because maybe some parents read this, and maybe they have a kid who really enjoys their teacher, and maybe they will think to pass on the kind words to their child's teacher. We teachers don't often hear from parents that we do a good job. We hear good things about teaching in general, of course. Teachers change lives. Teachers make a difference. Blah blah blah. But to hear a kind word or compliment from the parent of one of the very children sitting in your class is like magic. Just one can keep a teacher going for a month.
I thank God every day for putting me where I am at. Somehow, my whole life, God has had a magical (or I suppose you could say divine) way of showing me exactly what I need to do. It's not like a burning bush spoke or anything. It is more like I asked for some guidance and an opportunity and then one comes. I prayed for a way (aka: money) to stay at my outrageously expensive university which I loved so dearly, and the day after my freshman year of college ended my step-aunt generously and very randomly handed my mother a check for half of my college tuition for the rest of my time there. Not one of us asked her for the money or told her we needed it. I prayed for some guidance for what I should do in life. My college Latin professor said I should teach Latin. I scoffed. She said it again a year later when when I was fretting about what to do in life now that I was a senior in college. All my life my jobs have been working with people. Particularly young people. And suddenly there was an opportunity at the same private school my professor taught at on the side. Every other door shut. It was clear.
2 years later here I am. I prayed all summer for a job. I fretted. I worried. I also knew that no matter what, there was a reason and a purpose for why I was waiting on a job. And then I got a phone call from the head of the school which I now work at.
One of the parents had passed along my resume. She had gotten it from someone who worked at my old school. The head of school said he didn't exactly have a position, but could I come in and sit down and chat and talk about possibilities. They had a lower school Latin teacher already. But she didn't really know Latin. She knew Spanish. The upper school needed a Spanish teacher. They hadn't been planning on moving her to the upper school... but then they recieved my resume, and by the way, how did I feel about 3rd-5th graders?
And so here I am. Thank you, God, for always making it clear.
