First Week is Over...Whew!

Thursday and Friday were hectic at work, with the schedule still being figured out and students switching classes.  The kids were still very friendly, and my ninth grade classes were slightly more calm, although they still acted up.  Friday, there was one student who came into class and greeted me with a "Yo, Molly!"  I immediately correctly him and told him to address me properly, then after class pulled him aside and told him he needed to start respecting his teachers and addressing them in a manner befitting for adults.  Kids...I dreaded to know what certain student's home lives were like if they were acting out like this.

That's what always gets me.  The home life has such a huge affect on children.  Back home in the states, I worked with behavioral challenged children and they more often than not, had terrible home lives; single parent homes, many step-siblings or half-siblings, drugs and alcohol.  Some kids were able to change their lives for the better from encouragement from teachers, friends, and other outside mentors.  Yet, so many got sucked into the bad life, acting out in aggression and fear.  It was difficult to be too upset with a child because of knowing what they lived with everyday.  The same goes for my students, although it's almost the opposite.  Here the kids come from wealthy families and have almost anything they want, yet are handed material things, rather than experiencing relationships with their parents.

I want to be the teacher that helps inspire greatness in my students and among other kids I work with.  I want my students to feel comfortable with me to trust me with their problems.  I want to be that mentor for them and help them with more than just academics.  I watched a video today about a teacher somewhere in the states who teaches chemistry and physics, and makes it fun and interesting for his students.  He inspires them to want to learn.  And that's what I want as a teacher.  Make learning fun.  Ignite a passion for learning.  Then, I stop and remember that this is my first year teaching.  It's ok if I'm not the most inspiring teacher ever...I'm still learning how to teach.I need to remember to not set the bar too high for myself in regards to expectations.  I've always heard that the first year of teaching, you're just trying to stay afloat.  Well, I definitely feel like that.  Trying to create my own curriculum is difficult, let alone teaching a bunch of foreign kids.  It's going to be a challenging year, but hopefully a great one; full of learning experiences, mistakes, and lessons to learn.

That being said, my first week went great, even though it was only three days.  I was called the "cool" teacher, got to meet all my students, and have been as tired as ever.  These next few weeks of creating my first unit and continuing to learn who my students are will be difficult and challenging.  I just need to remember "just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." I'll get through it with lots of help and encouragement from the other teachers, the support and love from my family and friends, and lots of venting!!  Lol!