Fall "Break" and New Shoes

I am on Fall Break.  But I did have to go to work today, because my desk looked like this.  After school on Wednesday, I was surrounded by this swamp of grading and lesson prep and I couldn't even function.  The classroom looked worse than this.  But after a full day of relaxation, I felt ready to conquer this mess.

And Josh got me these beautiful new shoes (on sale), because he knows how much I wanted them.  Bless him for being my husband.  They're so shiny!

My life as a teacher post

I had to stop myself from strangling a child yesterday.

I hope that means I'm a normal person.  Because I feel like I have abnormal amounts of patience for these kids most of the time.  I hope it doesn't mean I am horrible.  But really.  The things some of these kids do are enough to drive someone to drink.

Anniversary 2

Our second anniversary!  I know it was technically two weeks ago, but we had some good memories. Friday night: Sushi at Benihana's (we had a coupon). Saturday: Hines' Mansion in Provo treated us good.  Starting with some less-than-healthy- burgers from Tommy's, we were treated to an amazing couples massage (so amazing, they convinced us to buy another expensive couples massage for February.  Happy Valentines Day to us!).  Hines' Mansion gave us the Penthouse room, way up at the top of the tower!  We ate more delicious food from Thai Ruby.  Padthai and Mango rice dessert are now part of my dreams.  Josh is the best.  We loved every lazy minute of our anniversary weekend. :)


Yummy.

 Our bathtub was in the top part of the tower.  Our reading nook in the right gable.  We had the whole upstairs to ourselves.  :)

 P is for Park (not penthouse, like they told us.  We knew better).

My life as a teacher post

I've decided to start labeling the titles of the posts that involve me rambling, ranting or raving about teaching, so that should you so choose to ignore my exciting adventures as a teacher, you will know when those posts come up (did that sentence even make sense?).

I realize that I haven't been a teacher for very long.  And that technically, I haven't had all the training required for it yet either.  However, in being a sort-of half-teacher for a whole year and having much experience observing how teachers work, I feel fairly prepared for being the real deal now.  I know it's only the end of the fourth week, but I feel like I need to dispel a few myths.... mainly because I've been thinking about these issues for a while.  In no specific order, here goes:

1.  Teachers work hard.  And we don't get paid enough.  Ok. So maybe that's fairly well-known, but it's still true.

2.  Charter schools teach the same types of kids as regular public schools.  This is one of the things that bug me the most- when people find out that I work in a charter school they're like, "Oh.  Well, all your kids are really smart and really good, so your job isn't as hard as if you worked in public schools."  Wrong.  Charter schools are public.  They get government funding- less even than public schools.  And they do not "pick and choose" the students who attend.  Most charter schools are filled by lottery.  Pick 'em out of a hat.  Literally. So no.  I do not have angel children in my class.  Far from it.

3.  I wish I could just do the first week of school over and over.  I'm very good at setting up ground rules and working on procedures and such.  It's now, deeper into the teaching material, when it becomes harder for me as a first year teacher.  I don't necessarily know all the material I'm teaching yet, which means I have more homework than my students every night.

4.  I'm just taking it a day at a time.

5.  Schools may not be the most professional work environments, but we try our best to be confidential and to keep business where it needs to be.  Yes, there are coworkers who vent and moan and groan and complain all around about some children and their behavior.  BUT, that is true of any job.  There will always be people who complain and gossip.  Teachers do not have the monopoly on griping.  And the majority of us would rather find solutions.  And knowing about how your child behaves in other classes will help the teachers find those solutions.  So being afraid of your child being "gossiped about" shouldn't be a problem.  I (and a lot of teachers I know) don't talk about those ADD kids because we just feel like it.  We're trying to find answers and find the best way to teach them.

6.  Sometimes, teachers know more about the students than the parents do.  We know when your kid has attention problems.  We know when they are having stressful times at home.  We know a lot.  Which can be sad.

7.  I already love the kids I teach so much.  I have already cried because they make me so happy.  Those happy times are not when I'm actually teaching.  It's when I'm just observing--- not focusing on Dan jumping in his seat, or Aaron picking his nose or Annie whispering to her neighbor--- when I look at them and see how awesome they are.

8.  The school I teach at is not as weird as you may think.  It's not a military school.  It's not rote memorization.  We have structure.  And we teach kids how to be smart.  Isn't that what most parents want from their kids?  Come observe.  You'll feel a difference.

9.  I may feel like I complain a lot.  I may also feel like I judge a lot.  But I've learned that I am more positive than I think.  There are some people who live to complain about everything.  I vent and try to move on.  Sometimes my vent is long lived.  I'm not perfect.  But still.  I'm sick of listening to complaints.

10.  My partner teacher in the sixth grade is boring.  Bless him.

11.  I still want to teach History instead of Science.

12.  This last week has been the hardest.  Hopefully it gets easier?  We'll see.

And that is my rant.  For now.  More to come, I'm sure.

Week 1. Check.

So I survived.  The first five days were pretty close to how I imagined them going.  No- the children did not sit with rapt attention, obeying my every whim and instantly memorizing all the information I gave them (which was how it happened in my dreams).  Yes, I woke up at least four times every night this week which made me very tired.  Yes, my hips and knees ached after the first day of standing/walking/running around all day.  But overall, I think it went well.  I think the kids are so good- with a few exceptions, of course- and hopefully I can be a good teacher to them.

Josh had his first week of classes as well.  Dance 260 included. ;)  The goal is to graduate in April! Hooray!

We're just glad there is a long weekend now.  It's been a while since we've been so productive.  Wish us luck for week 2!

P.S.  Everything worked out with all the licensing stuff.  Just like everyone told me it would.  Still- that was some extra stress in my life that I could have gone without.  

Fine Art?

I've recently been told that my major, Art History, cannot be transferred over to Social Studies credit.  For BYU generals it could.  But other education systems such as the ARL program consider Art History to be a "fine art."

Ok.  Technically, it is.

But that doesn't mean that I don't know history.  Or geography.  What is it about Art History that makes me unable to teach elementary students the basic history of the world?  I know more history than most people.  No- I don't know specifics of the economic output of new world colonial slaves, or the details of the Portuguese' initial domination of the shipping and trade relations in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  My schooling focused more on the art made, and the political, social and economic influences that were part of that.  But I know history.  And my travel experience has covered 5 of the 7 continents.  I know where the countries are.

But really.  Am I not qualified to teach basic world history/geography to sixth graders?

According to the ARL family, I am not.

They're fine with me not having a single math class in eight years, but tell me I need to take just one more History class to qualify.

Awesome.

Some reasons why

After I wrote my homebody post, I was surfing the facebook and catching up on my blogstalking when I decided I miss Josh.  He left while we were in Krakow (again- I will post about tour soon!), which left me with two weeks in Europe without him.  Then, he started a job at a boys camp this week, which meant he was not home when I got back. Sad face.  Two weeks in Europe and two weeks at camp is four weeks too long.  This is only the third time we've been apart since our perfect wedding.  I hate it.  Yes. I'm a wuss when it comes to being apart from him.  I admit it freely.  Even the one night in St. George without him was not a happy night.  I don't care if it's one night or a year of nights.  I don't like being away from him.  Judge me if you will, but that is how I feel.

So.  Stop reading now if you don't want to read my mushy list of reasons why I love and miss the handsome Joshua.  I warned you.

Why I love/miss Joshua Daniel Park:

-  Sleeping in the same bed.  Yes, I used to wake up a lot when we were first married.  Being elbowed in the face is not the most relaxing way to sleep.  But I would like an elbow in the face when I get to see him again.

-  Cuddling.  He doesn't think his shoulder is comfortable, but I do.

-  Kisses on the forehead.

-  His constant concern for my well-being.  I probably take advantage of that too much.

-  His comfort when I am stressed or hormonal.

-  His toasted sandwiches.  The best.

-  Holding hands.

-  His perspective on everything.  I don't always want the big picture, but sometimes it is really nice that he doesn't get caught up in little things like I do.

-  His handsome face and hot bod.

-  Talking.  About anything and everything.  I want his opinion on everything.

-  Having a sushi-eating buddy.

-  His ability to figure out and fix things.  So manly.

-  He loves me.

I miss his confidence in me.  I miss watching him do his hair in the morning.  I miss his voice.  I miss the way he looks at me.  I miss watching movies with him.  I miss his arms around me.   I just miss being around him. I wish he could have been the one to pick me up from the airport.  I wish I didn't have to wait til Saturday night to see him.  I wish we didn't have to be apart.

That's all.