ORANGE!!!

I bought an orange jacket tonight at Target. This was a big commitment for me because jackets are kind of expensive. Was it my newfound love for fall that prompted the purchase? My understanding that orange is fashionable this fall (although as I told my students, almost no one actually looks good in orange), sentimentality for OSU, or my frustration with being surrounded by OU fans here in the city? Who knows, but I love it!

The First 9 Weeks

So I'm a teacher now. Not sure I ever mentioned that here. As of three days from now, I will have officially survived my first nine weeks in my first school. It's definitely been an adventure.

I have learned so much in this time frame...much of which I would like to have known BEFORE I started. It would have been very useful then. Like...6th graders are very much still children and should not be expected to be as responsible as college students...and how 8th graders will try ANYTHING to get a rise out of an authority figure, so teachers should have really firm discipline plans in place...and how I should think of 7th graders as middle children because they need CONSTANT attention! It's been fun and frustrating all at once, and I think I like it :)

The first day, I really thought I had this teacher thing whipped. I put on my stern voice. I did not allow fun things. I informed students about the procedures of my classroom. They sat relatively quietly and listened. The first day, I left school around 4:00! Awesome!

Then the second week rolled around. Those 8th graders I mentioned earlier? Yeah, they started being themselves. I issued some discipline and was chastised by two other teachers AND called down to the principal's office. Did they not know that I have NEVER been called to the principal's office in all my life? Except the time all the valedictorians were called to Mr. Slater's office to learn who was going to give the speeches. So, nervous beyond all logic, I went down and faced the music. Needless to say, discipline is my biggest struggle.

That brings me to the next point...this school is kind of a rough one. Maybe not the worst possible. It's not like inner city, just rough suburb immediately nearby inner city. Anyway, the kids lack a lot at home, and it shows when they come to school. All I want is to show them care and respect and to teach them to do the same, but it's an uphill battle. For them, fighting and yelling are a way of life and the way they can see that someone cares about them. It's hard to overcome that, and I'm learning a lot about my own "parenting" style.

On the positive side, I have some great stories. From the kid who picked a scab and bled on the second day of school to the whole class of students who took a collective breath of awe when they realized I had understood part of their conversation...in Spanish to the goth 8th grader who says he doesn't like people but went to town making decorative coffee smoothies for the crew and receiving rave reviews, I've definitely had some funny moments. One of my favorites was all about a lost math book...

Kid: I'm failing math.

Me: No good! What's going on?

Kid: Well, I lost my math book, and my math teacher is mean and won't give me another one.

Me: Well, have you looked for it at home?

Kid: Yes! And I think my mom hid it from me!

Me: Your mom? Stealing your math book? Why would your mom steal your math book?

Kid: I don't know. She doesn't want me to go to college, I guess.

Well, turns out I've had a math book just sitting in my classroom for about 6 weeks. I went and got it and discovered it was in fact this kid's textbook. I gave it back to him and about 5 minutes later overheard him talking to another student..."I found my math book! My teacher stole my math book!!"

It was hilarious.

The next week, he told me he didn't have any math homework because he got it finished in math class because he had his book! Aww, happy ending :)

So all in all, here's a summary of my thoughts.

Negatives:

It really IS a lot of hours.

I definitely underestimated the amount of grading.

I haven't made a lot of friends in the school yet because of this whole crazy teaming system they have that my subject doesn't fit into. Very frustrating.

I'm not convinced that teaching THIS subject at THIS school is the best fit. I was raised in the country, and that is the type of school that I feel most comfortable in. We will just have to see where God leads both Luke and me.

Positives:

I really like teaching! Getting to know the kids and planning lessons is great fun! I even like teaching cooking and sewing (MAJOR surprise!)!

I love the hours and am SUPER excited about the breaks I will get.

I love it that maybe someday, Luke and I can both be teachers, and we will have the same hours and breaks.

End of the Church Search!!

Well, we found one! And we love it! It's bigger than we were looking for, but the size is actually a good thing. The place is overrun with children and people getting ready to have children (we're so not drinking the water there), and one week we had 21 couples in our Sunday school class. This means that we have finally FOUND the people our age! We know where they are now!

And we love the people! And the pastor! And the real, honest-to-goodness Bible STUDY we get there! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited!

Political Adventures

I absolutely LOVE IT that this actually happened.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/30/harvard.arrest.beers/index.html

I love the "real people" aspect of it and of course the "let's get together and talk about our feelings" thing :)

Adventures of the Church Search, Part 2

Well, we visited #2 (The Big One), and we were all kinds of unimpressed. It didn't feel quite as big as I thought it would, but they did have red carpet, which is obviously a major strike against the whole place. Also, there were no windows in the sanctuary. The whole world could have been blowing away outside (it IS Oklahoma after all), and we would have just been sitting there unaware, happily singing praise songs followed diplomatically by hymns.

Lest I sound shallow, I will say that carpet color would not make or break a church for me. Neither would the fact that no one invited us to lunch or the fact that the deacon at the back only shook Luke's hand and not mine. The dealbreaker in this case was the man standing behind us. He oohed and ahhed over a brand new visitor, introducing his friends to the man and asking a million questions about his family and career. He failed to even greet us. Either we have super familiar faces, or the church isn't too personable. That mixed with the overly simplistic message of "go reach people" again convinced us that in spite of the church's $20k/month budget, their resources will probably not fulfill our needs.