Ongoing Vacation

   Its been almost a month since I left, and more than a month to go back. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my summer break from teaching. As much as many of us complain about teaching, there is nothing else we rather do. Yes, sometimes students can get on our nerves, but truthfully, most kids are OK. I was lucky this past school year, I had some of the nicest kids I've worked with in more than 15 years.

    Wow, its been that long; I been teaching now for more than 20 years. it was 1993 when I first walked into the classroom. I can still see it in my mind. one day I was school security/teacher assistant, the next day I had my own classroom, with a list of students. Over 160 students were now under my care, under my responsibility. Most knew me as their assistant in other classes, where my job was only to help them after the teacher finished his/her lesson. Suddenly, I had to do the lesson, and I was nervous as hell. I knew my subjects, I knew my math and science, but never had I prepared a lesson for an entire class, let alone five classes. Luckily, i was teaching one subject, Biology.

  I am not sure if administrators are stupid, or just very ignorant. I told them, when they offered me the teaching position that I was a physics major, "oh, so you know science".. ah, right. They think that if physics is a science, and biology is a science, you must be able to teach it. No? it does not work like that. needless to say, for the first semester of my teaching career was spent re-learning everything that needed to be taught for a seventh grade bio class. Hours were spend preparing lessons, hours spend correcting papers, it was exhausting.

I managed to last for a year and a half teaching Jr high, because kids at that age come with oh so many issues. Its the most confusing time of their lives, that teaching takes a back seat, and parenting takes front stage. kids from having drug issues, to depression problems, even a few kids who attempted suicide.

I moved to high school after that. I thought things would change much, but no. Its just worse. High students come with all the issues of Jr high, compiled with many other issues.
So why do I continue to teach?
Its what I am, its what I do. There is a compelling need to share what I know, to make sure that no more kids have to go through what I had to. To make sure that I make a difference, however small in their lives.