I'm a middle school art teacher and I love it. I laugh out loud several times a day. Middle school kids are just so quirky and full of surprises. This year is going to be a little bit challenging because I have my biggest classes in eight years of teaching. I used to cringe if I looked at my rolls and saw a class with more than 30 kids in it. This year my biggest class is 37 (so far). I was given the option of teaching a 7th period, which would have meant not having a conference period and staying an hour late everyday but also getting extra pay and having smaller classes. I couldn't fathom the idea of not picking Aven up from daycare until 4:30 or 4:45 and not getting home until 5:00 so I chose the larger classes. So far my big class seems like a pretty good group (knock on wood), but I am finding that navigating my classroom is pretty challenging with 37 kids and 37 backpacks, not to mention how big boys feet are in relation to their height at this age. I have found myself imagining what it would be like to do hand springs through the room to help students rather than tripping and squeezing through so many bodies. Everyday the voice of a colleague reciting his favorite saying about the public education system in Utah rings though my head "stack 'em deep and teach 'em cheap". Here's to a great, albeit crowded, year!
37! WOW. That is incredible. But in a strange way it makes me homesick... Ahhh Utah. Well, good luck on this year! I look forward to hearing about your teaching adventures.
ReplyDeleteAnd consider this your invitation to come and stay with us in Austria! You have four years :) We would love to have you guys.