Back To The Old Snake Pit
Well, it's back to teaching today. I got there at 7:45 AM and there were 3 kids waiting outside my door to take makeup tests. *sigh* After that I ran off some lab papers for a Biology dissection tomorrow. By this time it was 9 AM and I finally could grab a cup of expresso. Too soon it was time for my first class, Anatomy. We watched a video on spaying a rabbit (we are studying reproduction). We discussed it and followed up with some review questions over reproduction material we covered before the break and which they had forgotten most of. Then it was time for Biology class. We discussed mammal characteristics and main orders. They then worked on their word list to know for the fetal pig dissection. Lunch was a 20 minute wolfing down of my usual vegetarian fare. I then had one more Biology class. In between when I had a few moments I graded and returned the last of the tests they took right before the break and set up the dissection supplies for tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to work on their final exams and the chapter tests that the Biology and Anatomy classes will be taking Friday. I just didn't have time to get to them today. At 3PM I got out of there, put the top down on the Miata, and turned up the music. When I got home I finally got to use the restroom for the first time today. This is a pretty typical day for me. I taught well but am exhausted both physically and emotionally. The constant questions, clarifications, and problems that must be solved in the classroom really sap my strength. You leave feeling like you have been beaten down. This is what teaching is all about, folks. It's not a job for those without a strong constitution and desire to persevere.
2 Comments:
I truly do feel for you. It is tough to be a teacher these days.
I worked in the medical field and one of my collegues told me she came out of college with big dreams and goals to become a teacher in the tough neighborhoods of Memphis,TN. She told me she suffered through a year and then had to leave because she felt she was going to have a nervous breakdown. It was horrid. I could never do it. I am one of those very sensitive people that belongs somewhere on the mountains of Tibet meditating. :o)
I had to leave the medical field. I worked in the mental health field. Very intense. Quite a few times I drove home in tears. Those rattlesnakes in a cage is a very good analogy of the daily life as a teacher.
I see those cute kitties you adopted are doing well.
Teaching...it's not just a job, it's an adventure.
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