Life has been whirlwind these past four months. Evan and I both started the first jobs of our careers, and these jobs certainly keep us busy.
In my new job as a 7th grade teacher, I am learning just how much goes into being a teacher. Yes, there are the 6.5 hours that you spend at school with the kids, but within that time you're not just teaching academic content. You're helping kids understand that their actions have consequences. You're helping them deal with all kids of conflict, and teaching them how to think before they speak. You're disciplining bad behavior, rewarding good behavior, checking homework and helping them reach high expectations.
Then, there's all the time that you spend outside of those 6.5 hours going to meetings, planning lessons, contacting parents, creating documents and grading. Sometimes, it's really difficult to for me balance my work and personal life.
It's been a steep learning curve being a teacher. I struggle a lot with how to deal with certain situations that come up, especially since there are so many things that middle schoolers do that are inexplicable. But, the experience is invaluable. I know that God is preparing me for future teaching positions and he is teaching me things about myself that I would never have learned if I was anywhere else.
