Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Teaching the Teacher

Today marks 32 more days left of school, or 6 1/2 weeks before we embark on our summer break.  Not that I'm counting or anything.  What a year it has been, and boy have I learned a lot!


This year I went through the transformation of being an English teacher and an elementary teacher to a high school history teacher.  I passed my Praxis II test for history, so now I'm fully certified to teach it.  What a relief that was!  I had to take it twice!  I forgot all about the economics portion of social studies, so I had to pay for the other test.  Like I had the extra $115 just floating around with nothing to do.

Another transformation for me was learning to deal with teenagers in general.  I learned that yes, teenagers may have attitudes, they may be outspoken (a little too much at times), they may not always behave appropriately in class, but some times the problem wasn't them, but me.  I may not be able to change my students' behavior, but I can control my reaction.


I've had a couple of students during the course of the year who I've clashed with.  I tried talking with the principal, the guidance counselor, and my mentor teacher about the situation.  When my mentor teacher came in to observe me, because of my concerns, she was able to see how my reaction towards a student caused that student to behave in a certain way.  That's when I learned that I was a possible factor.  Let's just say that things have gotten a lot better.  I'm not perfect, but I now approach my students differently, and it has made a difference.

Aside from school, other transformations are taking place. My oldest stepson has just turned 18 and will be graduating in 27 days.  Yes, I've got a countdown for the seniors, too.


With graduation comes new changes in our lives.  My youngest stepson will be alone from this point on, at least at our house, so adjusting to not having his brother around will be a huge change for all of us.  Not only that, but my youngest now has a job.  A JOB!  I wish that life could slow down a bit so they won't grow up so fast.


Well, with the coming of summer break will hopefully come with wonderful opportunities of warm weather and lots of special times with my husband and stepsons.  This weekend Hubby and I enjoyed our first major bike ride of the season.  And it was WONDERFUL!  I felt like Rose in the movie Titanic when she spread her arms wide and yelled, "I'm flying!!!"  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can take the big trip we're hoping to do this summer.

If I say any more I won't have anything to say in my next post, and I'll probably bore you further.  So, until next time.....

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting my blog and your comment. Have a great day!