Last Time, On Blogspot. . .

Well, I began my internship at one school, and was moved to another school and told I'd have to start over. This was okay because of circumstances to complicated to relate in anything short of a very boring book. And, the school I was moved to is a Christian school where I was given the opportunity to take classes over and run the way I wanted.

My time at this new school has been a blessing. I've made some really good friends with the staff and some great connections with the students. I've been there for 4-5 weeks now, and I just got word that my college supervisors are satisfied with my performance so: Good news is I can be done whenever I'm ready (they suggested that today be my last day), Bad news is I hate to leave.

The staff at this school have really welcomed me in--they have even offered me a position (a paying one). I have had to pray hard about this. It's so tempting to want to say yes to people who so openly want you. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but my wife and I have sought God in this, and we both feel that God is calling me somewhere else.

So, next Friday will be my last official day as an intern. All I will lack is typing up all of the documentation I have built up and turn it all in, and then, I'll have my degree.

This has been a long and crazy journey. I've learned so much about myself, my God, and so many other things, that I can't even begin to put it into words.

So.

Here I am.

Take a deep breath.

Let's go.

Internship

How can I put this bluntly?

There are simply things you CANNOT learn in a classroom about teaching in a real public school class.

Here is a list of things you can't learn from a textbook: (These are all meant in good humor)

10) Schedule changes are not a possibility, they are the reality. PLAN ON IT.

9)   Middle School students can and WILL fixate on random things at any given moment; don't be surprised if a group of 7th grade girls spontaneously start making flatulent noises with their armpits in the middle of a lesson. -- It's not you. It's them. I promise.

8)   You will learn more about the students in the teachers' lounge than you will ever learn in the classroom.

7)   "Square One" that you're going to have to go back to: it starts WAAAAYYYYY farther back than what you thought. . . waayyy farther. . . nope, farther than that. . . . keep going. . . yeah, you're getting it.

6)   You need to keep some sort of drink handy if you plan to make it through a day of teaching. (What kind of drink you want may depend on what kind of students you have.)

5)   The teacher you see in the classroom is NOTHING like the teacher you see in an in-service meeting.

4)   A teacher's bladder fills in direct proportion to the time spent teaching, NOT to how much he or she has actually had to drink.

3)   That "sweet child" you have in first period mutates into a completely different species by seventh period.

2)   Writing directions on the board is for the people evaluating you; students apparently cannot see dry-erase ink unless you read it to them at least three times.

1)  A "mongoose" is a "weird kind of bird that swoops down and kills snakes." Several of these "birds" have apparently been seen by the more interesting students in schools today.

Heaven help us all. :P    LOL

BG

Nearing the End: So close and Yet SOOOO Far . . .

For those who were wondering, I've been finishing up an English Education degree. I have completed all of the regular classes and am now interning in a 7th grade class.

I have also been writing fiction in the hopes of becoming a published writer. That hasn't left a lot of time for blogging, but maybe I'll be back to it soon. I think that I'll start a couple of new blogs--one for my thoughts on Education and one for my progress as a writer.

We'll see.

For now, talk to you all soon.

BG

Time Keeps on Ticking

Well, Smiley Boy is 5 and counting and SAM-BO is 3, and they are BOTH going to their first days of school tomorrow.

Kindergarten.

I have very fond memories of Kindergarten, but school has changed a lot since then.  They actually TEACH stuff now.  I don't think that I got grades or anything like them.  It was more like: "He participated well." or "He didn't eat glue today."

But now it's different.  Now my premie boy is going to school and learning to read and count and . . . .

And my 3-year-old, who is proud of showing everyone his muscles, is going to school too.

I thought that I would be more excited about this, but now that Smiley Boy is in his bed, too excited to sleep, I feel kind of numb.  I'm really not sure why.  I'm glad they are growing up and glad that they have the opportunity to go to a Christian school, but. . . I just don't know.

One thing that I have learned about having kids is that as prepared for each "phase" or stage in their lives as you think you are, it will probably not happen the way you think.  Even if everything goes according to plan, you may find yourself sitting up at 10 P.M. typing about how great "it is?"

As with everything else in life, I'll see how it pans out tomorrow.

God is still God, and I'm still His.

Just thought I'd share.  :)

You Don't Know What You Can Handle. . .

Until God handles it for you.

Feb 2006

Feb 2006

Feb 2006

Feb 2006

2011

God is STILL GOOD.