Sunday, September 9, 2007

Forget the lemons...onto the lemondade!

Last week was a really rough week for me at school! I am not sure what it was...the 4 day week, my special time of the month, the new students, new drop off schedule for my own kids, or a host of other things, but it was a BAD week. I felt that I was coming home so grumpy and that everything was irritating me. I even told Dave one night that I was not meant to be a teacher and didn't think I could do it anymore. Of course he reminded me of the money we had invested in my career including the loan payments we are making for my undergrad, the money we paid for the Master's I just received, and the payments we are making for me to take my Board's this year. Basically, he was saying there wasn't a chance in the world that I was quitting now so I better start sucking it up!! Now I am usually a pretty upbeat person and enjoy getting back to school with new kids and settling in to our routine, but for some reason I just can't get into it this year. Unfortunately I also have really needy students this year and getting into that routine has been sucking the life right out of me. I feel that I have not yet been able to teach at all as I am just trying to put out fires and get the kids to begin becoming problem solvers rather than waiting for me to direct them on what they should do. I am a very organized person so my classroom is filled with flowcharts, expectations, lists of what to do on the board, and a plethora of other strategies to keep the kids moving. Yet, it seems like they just aren't getting it and all last week resulted in me coming home very discouraged and not wanting to go back.

Well this all brings me to the focus of Pastor Danny's sermon today...recovering our lost treasure. Today's treasure was passion...passion in the Lord, passion in your marriage, and yep...passion in your job! He discussed how every job you do, whether working at Subway, designing web pages, or just vacuuming is a sacred job that we should be doing to the glory of God. The idea that we must have enthusiasm in life in order to have and share this passion was another point that Pastor Danny was trying to make. Now we haven't been to church in a few weeks, but now I know why God wanted us at church today...he knew what I needed to hear. I do feel that I have been called to be teacher because I have been given a gift to work with children and have a passion to make a difference in a person's life. For some, the hug I give them at the end of the day may be the only hug they get that day, the snack I give may be the only snack they receive, the positive words I speak may be all they hear that day, and the love of learning that I share with them may be the only push towards education that they will receive. I have been given a special and blessed opportunity to touch somebody's life and make a positive change in it so I must now get back this passion and show enthusiasm in my work.

So this week is going to be better!! The students will get into the routine, I just need to reinforce the positive, replace the negative, and remember to SMILE! Because after all my job is not all about me, but it is all about glorifying Him!!

Oh yeah...and today Pastor Danny had all the teachers, bus workers, and administrators stand during the service while he and the congregation prayed for us and the coming year. This was such an encouraging time. I also got a $5 WalMart gift certificate...WOOHOO. Yep, the week is starting off FANTASTIC!!!

3 comments:

  1. I feel you babe! these first few weeks of school can be rough going. Last year I had the Special Ed. kids and it was def. more challenging than this year is. Thankfully I signed up to have an intern from Towson this year so the extra set of hands in the room has been wonderful. It is sometimes hard in the middle of kids fighting, not following directions or just simply zoning out to remember that this little classroom is our mission field and that we are the closest thing to parents some of these kids get.
    I'll pray for you if you'll pray for me to be the best teacher, parent, cheerleader and friend that we can be to these little ones.
    Erinn

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  2. I felt your despair, but by post's end, I felt that enthusiasm coming through. Wishes and prayers for a wonderful week.

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  3. I will pray for you because I am so thankful for you and people like you. I could never be a teacher- I could not even be an effective tutor, thankfully the little girl just needed some one-on-one time!!

    What do you teach?
    I'm praying for you

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