Today I finally logged into this page and it greeted me like a friend whose face I haven't seen in some time. I meant to write a reflection at the end of the school year about my first year teaching, again when I came back from my adventure to Chile and Peru, at the end of my time in California for the Fides et Ratio seminar, and I thought time and time again this summer how I would sit down to write, but I never did.
The end of the school year was just that--the end. There was no big hoorah celebration or sigh of relief that it was over. The year came and then it went. I learned more in my first year teaching than I have most years in my life. If I just bulleted a list of things I undeniably learned more about this year, the list would look a little something like this:
You have to be willing to give before you can ever expect to receive.
Scheduling and planning looks different to everyone.
I had no idea what the words flexible or communication really meant.
Chile and Peru I can only describe in pictures...
In California, I had the opportunity to attend a literary seminar. I was able to spend a week of my summer reading and discuss books with a group of about thirty other teachers, professors, and a few others. Among the thirty some odd books I read, I was pleased to find many of the books to be books that I had read throughout my education at St. Edward's on the list including: "The Power and the Glory", "The Diary of a Country Priest", and many of Hemmingway's short stories. We also worked through some of St. Augustine's "Confessions" as well as Woodrow Wilson's campaign speeches. I enjoyed my week discussing literature at a round table again. I was taken back to the many wonderful discussions and lectures I had the opportunity to be a part of at St. Edwards--I'm biased, but never have I ever met a more intellectual and motivating group of individuals as I have in the English literature department at SEU. As a teacher, I aspire to emulate the stimulating dialogue that my professors were capable of facilitating in our classrooms.
As I begin this new school year, I look forward to the days ahead. I know that I will face many challenges but that in each of those I will also be given the opportunity to grow as an educator and more importantly as a person. Here's to the next 180 days.
As this year comes to a close, there are many things that I look back and begin to reflect on. Without a doubt, over 90% of these life events have something to do with the kids I have taught this year and the ridiculous, funny, crazy, frustrating, and amazing things that they do each day. I spend more time with my kids than I do anyone else. My classroom has been through some ups and downs and I have had many conversations with myself where I try and reason through why I am a teacher--without a doubt the reason is always because my kids inspire me each day to keep teaching and being in a classroom where students grow and struggle is what makes me happy. I have watched students overcome vast academic, economic, social, and personal barriers this year. My students are so brilliant and their talents are endless. I could go on and on about everything that has happened this year, but I will save that for the day that this semester has truly come to a close and I can sit down and accurately reflect on what TFA refers to as "transformational change."
In the meantime, I write this post to commend my students for one of the many amazing things that they have accomplished this year. Our school has a wonderful art program headed by a teacher who is relentlessly pushing her kids to dream big and use their artistic abilities to do great things. Recently the art program participated in the Vans Custom Culture Contest where students are given four pairs of white shoes to design and submit. Out of 2,000 participating schools, Raymondville High School was selected as one of the 50 semi-finalist. For the next few days, people cast their votes for which high schools will be selected to be in the top 5--the winners chosen will be going to NY. You can vote for the kids shoes here:
Last week, for the second time in my life, I booked a flight to Chile. Ever since I left my Chilean family and the city on the hill, I have had a very strong desire to return. It does not feel like two years since I have studied abroad, but then I think about all of the things that have happened in my life since I came home. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to go back and spend time in the country that taught me so much about myself. On this trip I will also be going to Peru. I am looking forward to everything that this summer has to offer.
Meanwhile, March Madness is taking up all of the spare time that I don't actually have. I decided to use one of my whiteboards to draw a gigantic bracket for the tournament. Having the bracket has been fun and a good amount of my kids are really into the games. I think it's always nice to have something outside of school that I can connect with my kids about. March Madness is my favorite time of the year.
In other news, my dad is doing this really cool thing for Lent and blogging every single day. He's a trooper. You can check his blog out here. He and my mom have also taken up the art of the "selfie". My parents have always been tech savy but they just started taking pictures of themselves on their adventures (that they basically go on all of the time now that they are loners) and it's great. Granted, I don't expect them to post pictures for selfie Sunday anytime soon.
Maybe I'll take a cue from my dad and try and get better about blogging...
The second semester of school has started off to be much more hectic than the first. I remember in high school that when spring came, I was never in school and it was constantly a mass pile of make-up work--now I understand what make-up, catch up, and trying to never fall behind looks like from the other side of the desk. Maybe because it is my first year, I feel like there will never be a time where I am completely "caught up" on all of my work, or maybe this is just how life works. I'm not entirely overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork that never ceases, but the INTJ in me is always trying to figure out how to work more efficiently. I don't want to get to the end of my life, look back, and realize that all I did was work. Yes, work makes me very happy--and even more so, teaching is so much more to me than work, it is my life. But I am in a constant search to find the divide between my teaching and my home life--right now I'm not sure if there is or ever will be a clear separation of the two.
Everyday in the classroom presents an incredible challenge and at this point I think I have learned as much about patience as my students have learned about English. Teaching is an opportunity to motivate and inspire--I've never felt more alive in the world yet dead from exhaustion all in the same moment. Having a classroom, being responsible for the education of a child, multi-managing every part of a day--so much goes into this job. In high school, and middle school, I never knew exactly why I loved and respected my teachers so much. Sure they were always there for me and were fun to learn from, but a part of me never knew how much they were doing for me and my friends that I didn't know about--but the relentless personality shined through in everything that my teachers did. Their tenacity and love for us and their jobs and disciplines--that is what made them great. I hope to measure up to be half as great as my teachers and professors were--to be frank, the bar is set quite high. I think of some of the best qualities that my teachers had that I am always working to incorporate into my classroom:
I want my students to feel like my classroom is a place where deep discussions can happen--everyone has a voice and a valid opinion.
When my students write an essay that merits an "A", I want them to feel like they should frame it--because they worked that hard and drafted that much.
My door--I hope my students always feel like my door is something that is open and that they can walk through to discuss their hopes, dreams, troubles, and aspirations.
I hope that when my students leave in June that they can feel like they enjoy reading and writing. Whether it be magazines, journaling, articles, young adult books--I just want my students to find something about literacy that they enjoy and will use everyday.
Right. So this is just a piece of my classroom and my thoughts about school. I guess I felt compelled to write my thoughts down because my classroom and my students are always on my mind in one way or another. Sometimes I wonder if there is a switch to like turn my thoughts about school off and then I realize that it's okay if there isn't. As long as I am helping my students learn and I am happy in what I'm doing, I will let my mind work through generating ideas and solving problems.
We started reading Into the Wild in my AP class and I think my students are really enjoying the book. I remember reading the book on my own in high school and of course wanted to leave all of my possessions, take a backpack, and start hiking across the US (I still do...not much has changed). I want my students to get excited about literature (especially non-fiction literature) and be inspired to think past the first reading. We have read other novels in my classroom, but this is the first time that I have really felt that my students are genuinely digging as far as they can into the novel and how it makes them think about their lives. Watching the light come on for my kids is a great experience--you should check out the book, the movie, or both.
I find out in a couple of weeks if I will be returning to Houston Institute to work this summer. Institute, outside of Chile, is my favorite place to be in the world (at least it was last summer). There is something about the environment and the people that make a challenging situation very rewarding and extremely purposeful. I don't know how to describe it--life at Institute is captivating.
I hope on this Sunday your hours are enjoyable and your day fulfilling.
