I am sad that I got too busy to post during my first year of teaching. It was very fun and exciting but also exhausting. I have learned a lot about myself, teaching, science, teenagers, communication, etc. So I will try and recap some of my year.
First of all, living in Raleigh and commuting to Fayetteville, NC (an hour and a half drive each way) got old veryyyy fast. I Thank God for my carpool because without them I would have quit midway through the year. Somewhere around October I realized that 3 hours of my day were spent in the car and it was sucking all of the energy I had out of me. However, I tried to stay positive because I was very lucky to even have a job in this economy.
In January, during testing time, I drove by myself because I wanted to tutor my students who needed the extra push to help pass the EOC. That is when I realized I could not do the hour and a half drive next year. As much as I LOVED that school, the science department and my students, I needed more out of my life and teaching career. I also became very homesick. My students did VERY well on the End of Course test. It just goes to prove that activity based learning works. In my Biology class, 93% of my students passed (13 out of 14). In my Physical Science classes, 71 % passed (36 out of 51). These numbers are HUGE! Last year this school had passing rates in the low 50s. To know that my students did 20 % better than last years students gave me hope and energy to complete the second half of the school year. The Thank You messages, I got from my students were very rewarding. This is when I knew that I was in the right profession.
In March, my Grandmother died. It was very hard to be at school in NC when I knew the only place I wanted to be was in Maryland with my family. This is when I knew for sure that I HAD to move back to MD. I started talking to J about our relationship and how homesick I was feeling. I knew how much it meant to him to be in NC so BIG decisions on our relationship were coming. J started looking for jobs in Maryland and our motto was "what is meant to be will always find a way". I prayed that God would help me see which path I was supposed to take. Meanwhile, J and I had to make a decision about whether or not to renew our apartment lease. We decided to do a month to month rental.
Spring break in April came and went too fast. I went home to Maryland and it was so good to see all my friends. These girls are the ones I know are going to be there for me for the rest of my life. It was hard for me to be in NC and have a real job when all of my college friends were still in college. Not being able to go out with them on weeknights put me back into reality. I tried to keep myself occupied by preparing for the Teacher faculty pageant and supervising with prom.
EOC testing came around VERY quickly. My second semester students were fun and challenging. I had lots of young mothers, lots of gang members and lots of unmotivated seniors. Motivating the unmotivated is something I still am working on. Staying energetic was the only way I knew how to deal with these students and It is VERY hard to stay energetic and positive when no one else around you is energetic or positive. At the end of May, I took a huge step in coming out of my shell. I RAPPED for the entire student body (with 2 other teachers). It was fun and scary and afterwards my students said "Your not too bad for a white girl". I would say it was a success!
In June, my prayers were answered! J got a BIG boy job in MARYLAND!! He is now employed as an Engineer at the Department of Environment. We will be moving in a week!
FINALLY I MADE IT TO TODAY!! I resigned at my school. It was a bittersweet moment. I was very scared to break the news to my principal. I didn't know how he would react. Thankfully, he wished me the best and told me I would have his recommendation. (WHEW!) Now to start looking for a teaching job in Maryland!! I am sad to be leaving my first school but I know where I am going will be just as great! Here are some pictures of my first classroom.
My goal is to post MORE during my second year of teaching.
Until next time..
