I apologize for the long gap in between posts, but I have never been so busy and emotionally drained in my life. Yes, I have made it through my first week of teaching and my 9th day of Dan's absence. As far as I know, Dan is safe and sound in Guatemala, drilling wells. As far as I know, I am safe and sound here in Upland, surviving teaching.
Here's a brief rundown of my classes:
1st period - Language Arts - 20 high schoolers retaking English, mostly boys. These kids sort of listen and they get work done. This is my third favorite class to teach.
2nd period - PREP!
3rd period - AP English - 21 intelligent, creative students, including a few who think quite highly of themselves. I'm encountering the "arrogant" student for the first time. We're reading The Things They Carried and other war/violence related stories.
4th period - Academic Am. Lit. - I really like this class. We're reading The Scarlet Letter. These kids are so well-behaved that they ask me before sharpening their pencils. This may sound normal to some of you, but it's not.
5th period - Workplace Communications - I team teach this with a business teacher. I don't have any planning for this class, but I do have some of the same students from Language Arts. That's okay. We've been playing getting to know you games.
6th period - Advanced Composition - I really like this class too. There's only 14 students, and we sit in a circle and discuss writing, and they write too, of course. They are starting on their first composition, describing a person/place. There's more too it, but this is definitely my favorite class to teach.
7th period - Language Arts - I'm in a classroom with 21 of the students whose names most frequently come up in the faculty lounge, and not for good reasons. Some problems I've encountered with these students this week (and for which they got kicked out) included a student kicking another "in the balls", a student calling another a "f*&*%r", a student beating up his computer, and other odds and ends. This class is still out-of-control, but I'm working on it.
Then I stay at school for a few more hours and plan and grade. It's great fun. And I get paid $55 a day until I get my Indiana license, at which point I get retropaid for the work I've done. What a mess.
So basically I'm learning to depend on God more than ever before in my life. Everyday I read the passage from 1 Cor. about love, and everyday I ask for the Holy Spirit to help me love and teach these kids. I also daily read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to my students. Just kidding. They wouldn't get it anyway. Oops, that cynicism is kicking in! In all reality, I am doing okay and I have a great support system here in Upland, IN. I have been out with people or at their houses every night this week; in fact, I'm writing this from my friend's Eric and Loretta's apartment because I can't access my blog at school and we don't have Internet at home.
Okay, I'm finished.
5 comments:
whoa, Julie. You are certainly being challenged in your first semester. Hang in there! It sounds like you are doing an amazing job after being tossed in during the middle of the year. Your classes sounds a lot more varied and interesting than my middle school classes. I'm sure you're learning a ton! I'm in the second semester now, and I still feel like I'm dog-paddling most of the time.
i think i have decided not to teach.
but seriously, i am reading joyce carol oates and "the english patient."
i am taking world lit with prof. vanbeek which is great and approaches to literary study in which i am going to screw the paper about shakespeare or tolkien (both which i have heard enough about in the past while to never want to hear about them for a long time) and i will sart reading some alice monroe alone and write a paper about her.
it sounds like you are terribly busy, but i just can't imagine how great class would be with you as a teacher!!
the postings from your friends are encouraging and uplifting. I love reading them-I think I've become encouraged by them too
I don't think Lynn would have survived her first few weeks of teaching with me gone. I'm sure Sammy gives you some great emotional support. Being a Perkins', I was horrible at supporting Lynn emotionally our first few years of marriage. I think Budgie has more sensibility than me there.
thank you so much for your encouragement, my fellow bloggers. katy, we need to talk before you make your decision not to teach! :)
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