Teachers 1/2 to Eat, Too!

 Okay fellow teachers, who doesn't enjoy a pot of creamy fondue?

Would if taste even more delicious if it were half-price??

Well, you're tastebuds are in luck.

Teachers and administrators can ring in the school year with a sweet deal. In September (Sunday through Thursday), a school ID will get teachers and administrators a half-priced Big Night Out, The Melting Pot's decadent four-course fondue dinner. It's our way of saying "thank you" for all you do!   Offer is valid at OKC Bricktown location only. Find out more info here!

It Starts.

I woke up this morning from a dream about administering and grading my students' spelling inventory. I already spend about 10 of my waking hours concerned with such things. Must I also be on the job while asleep? Come on, brain, give it a rest. (pun intended).

Sophia

I have a darling little girl in my class who I'm beginning to believe was sent by God to love me this year. She now tells me multiple times a day that she loves me, in the most adorable way. It may sound silly, but for me right now it really is something special to be reminded on a daily basis that I am lovable - straight from the heart of a child. (Even if it is a third grader who adores me, after all.) At recess on Thursday, she snuck up and kissed me quickly on the cheek. So darn cute. Yesterday, she came up to my desk, gave me a hug and said, "You're my flower."    Is that not the sweetest thing? She said it with such simplicity and sincerity. I think she may be an angel. Maybe not, but it was certainly an admiration for my heart to treasure.

Hablo Español…Un Poquito

On Tuesday, in our first faculty meeting of the year, my principal announces the staff members who will be translating for each grade level during Parent Orientation Night. My ears perk up when I hear her say, "And for third grade we have Miss Sutherland." Wait. What? Did I hear correctly? Was I just designated as the translator? That would be a yes. This should be interesting!

So, tonight I translated two 20ish-minute presentations on basic need-to-know info for parents about various expectations in third grade. Now, when I use the term "translated" I mean it in a loose sense… It basically means I said in Spanish my own, somewhat simplified version of what the speaker was saying haha. Exact translation is still out of my league, people. But, it was actually pretty cool. And being thrown into situations like tonight only help to improve my Spanish-speaking skills.

The parents were certainly gracious with my rough language skills, and I made it a point to end each session with, "Gracias por escucharme con mi espanol malo." They got a kick out of it. ;)
It's kind of nice to know I'm utilizing those 30ish credit hours of Spanish I earned in college (Although it's possible I will be cursing my Spanish Lit class until the day I die.). I really like helping non English-speaking parents communicate who, otherwise, feel virtually helpless in regards to involvement in their child's education. That being said, it doesn't mean my brain feels any less fried after tonight. Speaking Spanish always sends my head into major thought burnout. Certainly an optimal night to veg out in front of the NBC Thursday night lineup. :)

Extraordinary Perseverance

Today we had our first new teacher quit. Two days and he was done.

It is, of course, sad - both for him and for his students; but for me it's also humbling. I can easily remember myself this time last year, a mess who was constantly second-guessing and only above bailing by the grace of God. It causes me to realize that my first year of teaching was accomplished through measures of extraordinary perseverance. Not everyone makes it through this job. My job. 

But    I made it through, guys.   

I made it through   !!!!!

Maybe this is something that should have hit me closer to last May, but I think after a summer of debriefing my mind is coming back to me and I am finally beginning to feel some of that joyful,  "I DID IT!" feeling. Accomplishment. Satisfaction. Booyah. All of the above. 

I can't tell you how many times I felt like a failure last year; but, I think Ralph put it well when he said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." I worked my butt off, I had the life sucked out of me almost entirely, and yet I'm somehow on the other side of it now. ?

It's the best kind of surreal.

So far, I have been able to re-enter the same environment with a level of ease that was entirely foreign to me 12 months ago. It's kind of amazing me.

(I didn't even go up to the school AT ALL this past weekend. The first weekend of school. Do you know how incredible that is??)

On one hand, I'm afraid to hold my breath… it's only been three days, after all. 

On the other hand, I'm all for embracing the sunny side of life. That's three days off to a better year of teaching!

So, after many dark hours of fantasizing about trading my career in education for any mindless data entry job I could hunt down; I would like to encourage those of you out there who may be feeling just as disillusioned about teaching as I was: 

Based on my experience, (though quite limited, it is relatively rich) your life as a teacher will actually get better. It's not just something people say to make you feel better in the moment. You are a professional. You are skilled and equipped to improve the future generations of our society. (no pressure). But seriously, you can do this. Even better, you can do it well even without trading your soul and spending your Friday nights cutting out lamination. I promise.

Sincerely,

One who's been there

When the world says, "Give up,"

Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

- Anonymous

Fast Facts from the First Day

More on first day details at a later time, but for now I would like to say that I simply could not have imagined a better start to this school year. In comparison with my experience last year, it was a cakewalk. After today, I feel hopeful. Hopeful that what people always say, about it getting better each year, might actually be true.

Also, I left the building today at 5:35pm.
Yes, that should surprise you.
If you paid attention to my posts at all last year, you'll note that 5:35 is considered a VERY early night for me. It still wasn't easy - I had to make a conscious decision to cut myself off. But the important point here is that I chose to feed my life outside of school. For once, I wasn't the last car left in the parking lot.

Depressing view from last year.

Since I was not working in my classroom until all hours of the night, my evening ended like this instead:

:)

To top it all off, I purchased some new music. A very chill album, at that :) Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars. Great harmonies. Thanks, Meliss, for the recommendation.

On that note, I should be asleep.

Goodnight :)