New School Year!

To be honest, the only excuse that I have for not writing sooner is "I've been busy." It's mostly true but some nights I literally do nothing but talk to people over Facebook and drown my brain in reality TV.

School started on August 8 and the two weeks before that, I spent all day at school doing training sessions, decorating my classroom, working on syllabi and a plethora of other things to start the school year. When we started classes on the 8th, I felt extremely overwhelmed. I had to learn the names of almost 130 students and some of the names I have a really hard time pronouncing. I was hoping that the students would like me, but honestly, after the first day, I was wishing that they would just listen. The thing is that I went into the school year with some preconceived notion that 5th and 6th graders were just little adults but then I was hit with the brick wall that they would much rather talk to their friends than listen to anything a teacher has to say. That was a shock to my system that I certainly wasn't ready for. I don't know where I came up with the idea that everything would run perfectly smooth, that I would never have to yell or raise my voice, and that my students would be angels but after Day 1, that thought went out the window.

Now, I think my students are bright individuals and they all have a lot of potential but I sometimes struggle with the discipline. I hate yelling at kids and I try not to but I can also not be so strict because I don't want them to hate me (lol, so lame!!). I guess it's a work in progress.

I think my classes are going well. I teach English and Writer's Workshop. My kids can come up with some funny, awesome ideas. But they need to focus on their grammar and spelling. I have to somehow include that in the English syllabus but I'm not sure how. We have to follow the curriculum too so we will see.

I am tired when I get home from work but not exhausted. I feel the energy to do normal things and I love having weekends free. I usually do work every night but tonight I think I'm going to relax :)