Glad to be back!

I've been off school the past two days, and it was heavenly. Monday was especially lovely for three reasons: first, it was Halloween; second, it was an absolutely beautiful rainy day (except for the part where I got drenched when I was leaving the gym;) and third, I went book shopping at Barnes and Noble and spent birthday money on books I'd been wanting.

This morning as I drove to school I sure didn't think I'd be saying something as crazy sounding as today's title. But I really, really am. The paperwork, the politics, the discipline, the early mornings, and the short breaks are just a few of the things I hate about teaching. The children, however, are the things that I love about teaching. This morning as the bell rang and my children straggled into the classroom, their faces lit up when they saw me and they all ran to me telling me how much they missed me and how glad they are that I'm back. Several of them even offered me some of their Halloween candy, which I graciously refused.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to observe a "master teacher," and she definitely was. Although I'm not finished surfing monster.com quite yet, she definitely renewed my hope in teaching as a career. The way she worked with her kids, the lessons she was teaching, and the way her team plans their units of study definitely gave me some great ideas that I am hoping to use (and to some extent have already begun using) in my class.

Like I said before, teaching may not be in the cards for me to do for the rest of my life, but as long as the kids keep coming, I'll try to do my best for them. Even on the days where I don't want to hear the words "Miss Walker" ever uttered again I will be patient and loving. Patient and loving is easy when you're just dealing with the kids, but it's when all the other crap is thrown in that it just makes it so hard. Then again, I guess that's what makes it such a rewarding thing. Anyone can be patient and loving when it's easy. It's the challenge that makes the fruit that much sweeter. I often wonder if I'm in the right place, if I chose to do the right thing with my life. Then I realize that I'm only 24, and I still have most of my life ahead of me. I can still change and do anything I want to do. Most days I'm thinking, "I must've been crazy to choose this path." Today I'm thinking, "Maybe it's not as bad as I've always thought." Instead of changing my path, maybe I just need to change my attitude. That lesson learned, I think I'll give this teaching thing a couple more chances.