the trolley run

for the vast majority of my life i have maintained a strict anti-running policy. i have never taken pleasure in the type of exercise that leaves me gasping for breath, grabbing my side and anticipating the explosion of my heart. i was always puzzled by the people who seemed to enjoy this sort of torture. i generally wrote off their insanity by explaining to myself that some people are just more prone to athleticism than i am, and left it at that. but in the past few years i have noticed a strange phenomenon as fellow anti-runners began to change their tune. friends who had loathed running just as much as me started running on a regular basis and participating in 5k's. my curiosity got the best of me and i decided to find out what all the fuss was about. i began pondering the possibility of participating in the four mile trolley run and when i saw the t-shirt design i was hooked. [it totally reminds me of the mystery machine] so i coerced some fellow teachers into joining me and off we went. seeing as how i had not trained for this race, my goal was simple...i wanted to survive. i also added a bonus goal of finishing in less than an hour. i am proud to say that i am, indeed, still alive and i crossed the finish line at 57:09. mission accomplished.

my official gear

before the race...back when they still wanted to be friends with me
kasie . kristin . margaret . shelly

my jubilant finish

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mission accomplished

i did it! i worked everyday as a full time teacher for almost three whole months. yes, that does include ten snow days, as well as a week of spring break and a week off for the cruise...but who's counting? i'm still proud.

i really, really liked it. if i were making a pros and cons list there would be a whole bunch of pros and only a few itty bitty cons. i haven't discovered a new life calling or anything...i'm not on a quest to become a real teacher, but i'd love to be able to do something like this again. unfortunately, because of budget issues, it's very unlikely that this program will exist next year so we shall see.

in order to end the class on a strong note and solidify my position as my student's favorite teacher [i may be putting words into their mouths], i created a super awesome, amazing power point based review game for our last day together. the game is titled "who wants to win candy" and is formatted after "who wants to be a millionaire", complete with authentic sound effects. it was a hit, if i do say so myself.

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the absence of the countdown chain

i love countdown chains. love. them. unfortunately, i have to exert some self control and save them for major events. because if you had a countdown chain for just every little thing, they'd lose their magic.

one of the first things i got excited about after taking this teaching job was the prospect of a glorious countdown chain. i figured that since the cruise was so close to the end of the quarter, i'd just make a chain to countdown to the trip. i was tempted to make it right away, but decided to hold off. my goal was to make it past the 'honeymoon' stage of the job, and bring in the chain when things started feeling dull. but all those silly snow days kept me from needing extra motivation and alas, i waited too long.

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the ninth on the ninth

it is 9:12 in the morning. right about now i should be inspiring my students with examples of cause and effect words and other such riveting subjects. but i am not. instead, i am at home sitting in a chair, because we are having a snow day. our ninth snow day. ninth. the most snow days in the history of the world.

when this teaching opportunity first came along, i was hesitant about a few things. one of which was the full time nature of the job. lucky for me, full time has been a relative term this quarter. we have had exactly one full week of school. ironically, due to holidays and teacher work days, the next opportunity for a full week of school happens to fall on the week i will be on a large ship, sailing through the caribbean.

in the few and far between days i have actually been at school, i've discovered i sort of like having a job. maybe not so much that i need to have one all the time, but it has actually been kinda fun. i love my cart, which i've already mentioned, but it bears repeating. i love the organizational side of being a teacher, specifically entering grades into the grade book. it's heavenly. i like having co-workers and immensely enjoy the four minutes we have every hour to stand in the hallway and talk. [when i'm not busy running students over with said cart] i even like my students. especially my fifth hour, they're my favorite. i'm not sure if you're supposed to have a favorite, but i do. i like going to the same place every day and having something to do. i love checking things off my to-do list.

of course there are also my not-so-favorite things. i'm not especially fond of my alarm clock and the fact that it wakes me up every day at 6:20am. lesson planning is still a challenge, but i haven't had a repeat of my near nervous breakdown from my first major lesson planning session, so i'd say i'm improving. i don't especially like it when i have to teach a b-o-r-i-n-g lesson for forty seven minutes, six times in a row. those days are dull.

thankfully, my 'likes' are outweighing my 'dislikes' at the moment, so snow days and all...it'd say it's a pretty good gig.

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meet paul

my main squeeze. his full name is paul mccartney. get it? paul mcCARTney. incredibly clever, i know. and he's dreamy to look at. all that organization.

i am proud to say i have completed my first week as a teacher completely tear free. i didn't cry once! that seems promising. i'm a little hesitant to say this, lest the sky fall down on me, but i feel like i'm in the groove. i have an organizational plan of attack. i know where my classes are. i can name 95% of my students, as long as they don't change seats. i can probably name 50% if they do. i even know where to go if there's a fire or tornado. i struggled a little with running out of lesson plans before the end of class, but i improvised and so far it's all worked out.

pretty soon i'm going to get tired of the whole 'every day' part of the job, but if other grownups can do it, i probably can too.

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the first day of school

so far i'm surviving. i've made it through one day with my little darlings. it's obviously only been one day since i'm still calling them darlings. we'll see how long that lasts.

the biggest challenge at the moment is muscling my massive cart in and out of classrooms and through hallways filled with crazed middle schoolers every hour. i'm thinking of inventing some sort of extreme sport based on my experiences in the hallways of plms. it could be big.

but even for the pain it is, my cart is also one of my favorite parts of the job thus far. i'm sure it will come as no surprise that i took great pleasure organizing it and making every detail just right. in fact, i'm thinking i should give it a name...

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i never thought i'd say this, but...

in an unusual and somewhat shocking turn of events, i have found myself employed as a full time teacher for two and a half months. not a substitute, but a real kind of teacher with my own class and my own district provided laptop. the kind where i have to come up with lesson plans and inspire the next generation.

last friday afternoon i was minding my own business as a sub at my favorite school, when i was called into the principal's office. she assured me i hadn't done anything wrong, but they were actually offering me a position as a tiger quest teacher for third quarter. there had been four teachers lined up for some time, but one had to back out at the last minute. training was scheduled for the next monday, tuesday and wednesday...so basically they were desperate. i reminded her i am not certified, nor do i have any kind of education in education, but evidently desperate times call for desperate measures.

i was overwhelmed at the thought of it, to say the least, but agreed to think about the offer over the weekend. after consulting with my board of advisers, and some chatting with the Chairman, i decided to go for it.

the class starts after christmas break and runs through spring break...ten weeks. [can we say countdown chain?!?] it's a class they have created to help students with skills needed to improve their scores on the missouri standardized test and it's funded by a grant. i'll be teaching seventh grade language arts, which is great because my best friend in the building is a seventh grade language arts genius and she's promised to help me through. [although i'm willing to bet she may eventually regret making that offer.]

i've been 'training' for two days and my head is swimming in a sea of abbreviations and education lingo i do not understand. this will be an adventure, no doubt, but when i get overwhelmed i will stare at my workbook, click my heels three times and remember there's no place like home.

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