I'm a teacher...

I'm a teacher, so I must...

• simply baby-sit a bunch of kids all day.
• watch kids color or write their ABC's all day.
• only work from 7:55 to 3:00 M-F.
• be able to have every night and weekend free.
• teach lessons directly from the teacher's edition of texbooks.
• have lots of planning time when my students are in other classes.
• have free time during the school day while my students are working independently.

ummm...NOT!

Teaching is rewarding. That's true. But teaching is hard work. I have 9 lessons to plan each day (Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading, English, Spelling, Phonics, Handwriting, Bible). I have 3 Reading and 2 Math Centers to plan each week. I have a weekly Parent note to send home. I have papers to grade. I have experiments and projects to plan. I have books to read and ideas to gather. I have research to conduct. I have meetings to attend and lessons to plan. I have extra-curricular activities to conduct, supervise, and attend. I am usually working on school work every night before going to bed and also on the weekends. I get 1 real planning time during the day and the other is spent taking kids to their other classes and picking them back up at the end, leaving me about 15 minutes to make copies, do prep work, and maybe squeeze in a trip to the girl's room.

My lessons take a long time to prepare, because while I do have a Teacher's Edition of all of my texts, that only meets the needs of a select few of my students. I still have 4 students receiving ESL services (1 of which speaks little English and 1 who understands little English), 2 receiving Special Ed. services, 1 that if in the States would receive Gifted services, and my 3 average-on grade level students. I have to meet the needs of all these students in each and every lesson, making it extremely difficult.

But...with all that said...would I trade my job? No. I love what I do. Yes it's hard. Yes it would be nice if there were 10 of me. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I'm a teacher, so I...

• am teaching the potential future leaders of the world (or at least 6 different countries).
• am always looking for fun and exciting ways to teach my kids, so they're not bored and educated, but rather excited and educated.
• receive at least a dozen or so hugs, handshakes, or high-fives a day.
• receive at least a dozen or so hand-drawn pictures or hand-written notes a day.
• am challenged on a daily basis to be the best teacher possible.
• am a comforter, encourager, 1st Aid provider, nurse, counselor.
• am blessed beyond measure by my God to be able to have a job doing something that I truly truly love!

I am a teacher!