It’s hard to believe I’ve been teaching at the school now for two and a half months. Man, talk about a rollercoaster. I knew teaching would be interesting, but I had no idea it would be quite this wild a ride.

I love my students. Even the not-so-lovely ones. I was talking to some friends today about how sobering it is to realize the opportunity I have to be a life-altering influence in the lives of those I teach–for good or ill. I pray that everything I say and do glorifies God and inspires my students to aim higher, work harder, love more deeply, serve more selflessly, and live life more fully. I pray that each and every student I teach leaves my classes believing in themselves and in the beauty God has instilled into each one of them.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been teaching for a month. I’ve run the gamut of feelings–first excitement at the idea of doing the school scene after all those years of homeschooling, then disbelief that I/we were really and truly “in school”, then fulfillment as I watched the kids plug in and really enjoy being there, then weariness as the schedule and gas costs started kicking our butts and I began to sadden at the loss of everything remotely recognizable as the life we once lived.

And now? I’m making a conscious effort to roll with things and adjust to the “new normal” that has become our life. We’re on break from school this coming week, so right now I’m feeling pretty positive about it all.

Well, that isn’t the only reason I’m feeling more positive. I’ve had some things happen over the past week or two that have really brought to light why I love teaching. For example, on Thursday I helped one of my most reluctant students study for a geography test I gave to my 6th period class. She was completely overwhelmed and ready to give up, having convinced herself that there was no way she could learn 44 geography terms and definitions and pass the 60-question test. I showed her how to take clues from the definitions to tip her off on the correct term, and before long she was actually having fun studying. This is a girl who walks around school barely caring that she is there at all and often falling asleep during her classes. During the test she got frustrated with herself so I walked over and laid my hand on her shoulder and told her to relax, that she knew the terms and would be okay, to stop second-guessing herself and just read them over and allow her mind to find the clues we had talked about. She stayed 15 minutes after class to finish, determined not to give up. I was SO proud of her. I graded the papers after all the students were gone. She only missed two of the 44 terms, and with the bonus she earned a 68 out of 60 points. I cried. I had so much fun telling her the next day at the school session party. She freaked out and threw her arms around me. I got an email from her mother last night, telling me how much she appreciates me believing in her daughter and what an impact it’s having on her.

So yeah, right now I’m feeling pretty good about this whole teaching thing.

I have too many blogs already, but I thought I would set one up to write about my adventures in teaching.  I’ve been a homeschooling mom for 20 years, so I guess I can say I’ve been a teacher for a long time already. I remember being about 8 years old and telling Mama Mary that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. By teacher, I meant that I wanted to be my first grade teacher, Mrs. MacBrayer. Seriously I wanted to BE her, since I was convinced she was the most amazing and beautiful lady who had ever lived (next to my mom, but that went without saying). I now wish I could have realized how beautiful Mama Mary was then, too, but I was traumatized by being separated from my mom which led to me idolizing her to a great extent.

Anyway, I ended up being a homeschooling mom for 20 years and now I am an “official” teacher (i.e. I have a classroom and teach other people’s kids and get a little I.D. card that says I’m legit so I can get my bookstore discount and decorate my house with apple stuff).

So this should be interesting. I will write more about my classes and students very soon.