Update!

Well, 2 years and 3 subjects later here I am! I survived my first year of teaching. It was a doozie and I haven't had a year that has been quite that difficult again.

Last year they switched me over to half time English, half time Earth Science. That was an interesting combo. I taught Honors 7th Grade English....and Earth Science. I'm going to drop an honesty bomb on y'all. Earth Science kids are not the most well behaved. It was odd to have the duality of kids who legitimately did not care about school and kids who would cry if I gave them a B. Add on top that I had moved into a room that still had a bunch of stuff from the previous teacher and I was running in between two classrooms and it made for an interesting year.

We made it through though! And this year they decided to make me all English. I now teach one class of Honors 7th, one class of 8th Core and four classes of Honors 8th. This leaves me with a lot of repeat students. This is both a positive and a negative. I have a really good rapport with the majority of my kids, which in all honesty has never been a problem. On the other hand they think we're pals. We are not pals. I've had to be much stricter than I typically like because they can't see boundaries.

I also got to move classrooms again! I now have windows that look out onto a friends classroom and our small shared courtyard. I enjoy the light and the air but they are distracting sometimes. This classroom is also smaller than my other two rooms which is proving to be difficult. I am all about separating sections of the classroom for different things. That is not possible in my current room. At the beginning of the year they tried to cram 41 kids into one of my classes. At maximum capacity my room holds 38 desks. We sorted it out but there were a few tense moments.

Overall this year has been great. I have less stress, more free time and more control. I found a great group of friends over the summer who have been super helpful in me learning to take control of my life. I want this blog to get up and running again. I want it to be funny and insightful. Today I am not funny nor insightful but I am writing.

So come back soon. I promise to include funny stories from my kids and any insights I happen to stumble upon.