Prayer Helps

For those of you who read my last post and were provoked to pray, a hearty thank you. Prayer helps, that's for sure. Although this situation is not fully resolved, and has left some unpleasant feelings about some students and how it has all played out, it has not made me hate my job or anything that drastic. And I don't think I'm permanently damaged. Grace has been granted to me. I'm learning that amidst the pleasure associated with working with teenagers comes occasional bouts of pain, such as I recently experienced. These bouts can leave scars, but are also learning experiences. I remind myself that I am working with fallen individuals who also lack a great deal of maturity. Remembering this gives perspective to everything, even if situations are not easy.

And there is so much positive involved in working with students that it is silly to dwell on the negative for more than short periods of time. One of my hispanic students in World History who failed the first semester and third quarter has turned himself totally around. He is now doing his work diligently and really trying on tests. He should pass the semester. This is a blessing, especially when so many others who fail to start with tend to continue in that pattern. I think for this student there is external motivation at work besides my natural charisma (which should be enough, but what can I say?), such as wanting to become a sophomore or avoid the wrath of parents. Nevertheless, it is nice to see positive change. I also have a bunch of diligent U.S. History students who have been pushed hard all year long, and continue to excel. I know some of them probably complain behind my back at the heavy work load. I am not an easy teacher for those looking to get a good grade without doing a lot of work. But I am proud of many of them. This includes those who have enough talent that they should be earning an A, and are, as well as students who do not have as much natural intelligence, but nevertheless work really hard and earn a B or B+. These types of students are a joy to teach.

Then there's also summer to look forward to, as well as next year's classes. I'm already anticipating a new crop of fresh minds to shape (like putty in my hand, heh, heh), as well as the return of students who like me enough that they have signed up for another class with me! I'm learning that for the professional teacher, the job never really ends. For those of you who think teachers "get their summers off," think again. Maybe this will ring true after years of experience, but for now I have a fairly large amount of work to do to prepare for next year's classes. Ever try to teach or prepare an honors level class for Ivy League bound students (and other "smart" kids) in a subject you are not very familiar with without a level-appropriate textbook? That's one of my jobs this summer! As a teacher I feel I should bring my "A" game to the classroom. This means staying ahead of the students, especially those with sharp minds who will eat you alive (or at least complain to their parents that you're an idiot) if they sense you are not well versed in the subject.

The honors class is only one of the new courses I have to prep. The other is a brand new class (History of the Middle East) that I have to design. And given the current budget situation in my town, I don't know if I'll even have a text to offer students to use. That's right, no text! This adds to the fun/challenge of teaching. But give me a roomful ("roomful" is not really a word, but it should be, so I'm using it as if it is) of students who want to learn the material--or at least pass the course--and teaching is a lot easier than dealing with a class where half of the students don't care what their grade is. Middle East should fall under the former category. Suffice it to say that summer will provide a nice change of pace, although it will be full of stuff to do. Bring on the reading list, transcribing, and learning/supervising those who are learning more history.