Well, I still haven’t thought of a good title for my posts, but I also realized that I am probably not even at the number 104. This was a simple miscalculation between the posts that I have written and the posts that I have posted. In the past, I have tended toward having ideas an not really following through with posting them. I think I will keep the numbers the way they are, even if it’s not entirely accurate. It’s not like I didn’t write those other posts. I just didn’t publish them. Yet. 

Today was the last day of the quarter for the students. It was my first true block scheduling experience. I did student teach while on the block, but I don’t count that. At that time, I had no idea what I was doing or how to do it. I had no training in lesson planning that is specific to block scheduling, nor did I have a clue about actual teaching. It’s amazing that when you think back to all the things you know now you realize how much experience truly matters in this career. More than that, you also realize just how much you know. The old adage is that those who cannot perform a “real” job will go into teaching. It’s a bit of a silly notion as those who come into this career unprepared for reality often quit within their first years. But the real point I am trying to make here is that there is far more knowledge involved in teaching than an outsider, myself included, could possibly imagine. It’s not until you truly reflect on your first years teaching that you realize just how in depth this field is. 

My own class was a bit of a wash today, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. They were extremely burnt out from testing all week and others needed to finish tests in my room. Usually when teachers ask me to have a student test during my class I tell them that my class isn’t a study hall or homework session. However, this past week has been different. After reviewing scores, grades, and the shear amount of homework that the students needed to complete for their other classes, I decided that their scores mattered more than anything I was going to teach them. I had far too many students who were failing classes with teachers who were clearly ignoring them for me to not give them the opportunity to earn the credits. They are already behind. 

At the end of the day, I felt really accomplished. One of my students wrote my co-teacher and myself thank you emails that made me feel like a million bucks. This is why I teach. Not because he thanked me, but because he accomplished so much over the last 3 months. Fostering that process and mentoring him through the work is such a great feeling. Even better is watching his face as he turns in his final work and sees how far he has come. I also got a lot of planning and coordinating done during our meeting. 

I can honestly say, I love this job.