The things I learned from my 5th year of teaching

1.  There really ARE ebbs and flows to teaching.  Or valleys and peaks as they said in training.  One great year of kids is enough to restore your faith in being a teacher.  


2.  There really are a lot of GREAT kids in the 7th grade group this year.


3.  Sitting on your butt for 10 weeks sounds peachy.... until you are forced to do it and can only get up to use the bathroom, eat or shower..... then it becomes a prison sentence


4.  After 5 years, I can STILL be shocked by some of the things kids tell you.  For example - the student who told me he couldn't take my final because it was too boring -- ARE YOU KIDDING ME???


5.  Eating lunch by yourself in your room is no fun.  I prefer to actually talk to adults for 30 minutes in the middle of my day.  


6.  I like my job much more when I'm laughing....   There was not much laughter last year and it sucked.


7.  I LOVE teaching novels.  I wish we could do more with them than we do.  The kids really enjoyed the rebellion of The Outsiders and were truly shocked by the injustice of The Giver.    


8.  Karma always comes around even if it's not as timely as you'd like.  I always wish I had a super power called instant karma that allowed me to snap my fingers and give kids instant karma so they would see the immediate consequences of their actions - good and bad.....  can someone invent that for me please????  


9.  While we are on the subject of inventions I wish there was one that would allow me to see the future so I could know exactly where some of these kids will be in 10 years.  


10.  I used to only drink coffee for comfort because it was cold or rainy outside or because I was at breakfast with friends.  But now I drink it from necessity because I'm tired.  I wish I could drink coffee all day but too much caffeine gives me a headache.....

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