It’s holiday break – well Christmas break, this is Maine after all, the Jews are in sad population shape here… why do I keep thinking about school? In particular the kids. I keep telling myself I have over a week off from the place and I need to use this time to let my mind relax. My mind keeps wandering back to the issues facing me inside that classroom and my inner struggle to let it go, at least for fourteen days, are in constant battle. Ah, the classic war between mind and heart continues, a teacher’s life isn’t so easy after all.

Everyone says you don’t go into teaching to get rich. If they only knew how right and how wrong that statement is… you’re bank account won’t prosper, but the laughs and life lessons are exponentially greater than working a ‘real job’ in corporate America, or God forbid, retail. Yes, you are molding young lives, helping children see themselves as greater than they themselves truly believe. Yes, you will struggle to pay bills, eat the generic store-brand items while telling yourself really, aren’t they all made by the same company? What they never tell you in college is you will care more about these children’s lives than your own at times, and you will hear and see things that make your soul soar and believe in the profession you have chosen, see it as a craft and simultaneously see and hear adults acting as if they have been burdened by these children and would rather be doing anything other than caring for them.

Maybe if I list the issues (by issues we are talking about children) my mind is wrestling with it would help let them go, for fourteen days, wait, thirteen now…

(Edited for confidentiality...sorry)

There are others, trust me, these are the tip, the cream of the crop… I can’t go into others now, it’s too depressing… I know this is what being a teacher is all about. If I stop caring, what is the point? Nobody tells you how bad the parents can be. I’ve heard the statement ‘You need a license to get a gun, drive a car and catch a fish, but any two morons can get together and have a baby’ more than once and with every waking moment of teaching, this idea becomes sharper and clearer in my brain.

Every day I go in and I give it my all. If you have a headache too bad… if your dog is terribly sick and you’re worried he might die, too bad. Teachers don’t get a break… sure we have lots of days off and the summers too – but non-teachers who think we have it so easy forget about these simple facts… I get, on average about forty-five minutes of time to myself each day. That is time for planning, prepping and lunch. Oh and bathroom breaks don’t factor into the mix. After my first year, I developed a lovely urinary tract infection, almost unheard of in men… my doctor put it simply… “You’re not peeing when you need to.” She was right. So now, I literally have to run down the hallway to pee and sprint back, drying my hands on the way back to my room, because technically I’m not supposed to leave my class alone. I love hearing at parties when folks talk of emailing each other, myspace, facebook, youtube, etc… Internet shopping? A joke to a teacher… I’m lucky if I have time to email back the barrage of parents of emails fill my inbox daily.

So why do I do it? Teaching, money withstanding, is the single most rewarding profession out there. I’m literally shaping people’s lives every day I go into work. They come in eager and wanting to learn (this is 2nd grade and for the most part, they are not jaded yet) and I get to fill their blank pages with knowledge. It’s not just the three R’s either… I teach them the importance of making eye contact when talking to someone, how a firm handshake tells someone you are confident in yourself, that two wrongs don’t make a right, and sometimes you have to remember not to make a big deal out of the little things.

ok, it's starting... i'm starting to feel anxious about school starting... not sure why - i guess i know this is normal but i'm totally annoyed because i really want to enjoy the last few days of summer and this anxiety is killing it for me! ok - i need to get some adult beverages to help me relax! :)

ok - this may seem silly - but one of my personal goals for the upcoming year is to sing more. i've got about 7 or 8 songs and i hope to sing at least twice a week with my class... i'm going to try and incorporate it into morning meeting - it will be our 'activity' at least two times a week... that's the plan anyway... mee mee mee mee.

18 days until the kiddos arrive. oye. i'm actually not to stressed out. i'm determined to enjoy the last dwindling morsels of my summer... damn it! i've been doing a little planning, but nothing major... is that bad? i just figure i know what i'm doing - and i'll plan more as school starts... i just wonder how awful is it that i'm already thinking about NEXT summer. summer rocks.

humor in the classroom. lately i've been thinking one of the reasons i'm such an effective teacher is my use of humor. i don't do it on purpose, i guess it just comes naturally. i was thinking i should write a book on it. i've never written a book and have no idea how to go about doing it. i looked on amazon and found there are already a few books on humor in the classroom - so maybe nobody wants another one written about a subject that already has a few books on it... then again, look at all the stupid books about stupid things, such as hilary clinton or global warming. not that those are stupid things - there are just too many books about those topics and people still buy them. not that i'm saying making kids laugh in class is as important as global warming. then again - if kids are laughing, they want to keep coming to school... if they keep coming to school they'll keep learning... the more they learn the smarter they'll be... the smarter they are, the more likely they'll help prevent global warming. it's a stretch, but you never know.

target has 24 count boxes of crayola crayons for 20 cents. that makes me giddy. i love school supplies. one of my favorite parts about being a teacher is getting new supplies. bargain especially get me going. once in a while staples has a penny sale where they usually have folders and some other items, like pencil sharpeners for 1 penny each. of course, they only let you get a few of those items, but the idea of getting something for a penny is a wonderful feeling. at school i get certain supplies for free. getting an entire box (30) of brand new glue sticks is better than candy on christmas morning. i hoard them in my supply closet until they are absolutely needed and then i make sure the kids understand how lucky they are to be using such supplies. this year i'm going to implement some 'guided discovery' of supplies. the kids and i will discuss each supply before they are allowed to even touch it! this should help them respect the supplies more. who knows - maybe one day they'll be as happy as me to get a folder for a penny.

hmmm. teacher language... i recently attended a workshop and 'teacher language' was a big topic of discussion... apparently you are not supposed to use non-specific praise such as 'good job!' or the phrase 'i like the way...' instead you are supposed to 'encourage' using phrases like 'i see' or 'i notice' or 'i hear' - AND you aren't supposed to say 'please' or 'thank you' when you aren't asking for something that isn't an option. for instance... 'please sit down' - is sitting down a choice? if it isn't - don't say 'please' - 'please' is to be used when asking a favor - such as 'please shut the door' because you could very well get up and shut it yourself. i'm not sure how i feel about all this because i feel like i'm modeling 'please' and 'thank you' for the students. oye - one more thing to think about!