So much has been happening!!!!!

Oh my goodness ladies and gentlemen, so much has been happening! I can hardly believe what craziness my life has become. Also, it is so weird to think deeply about the fact that I am a teacher, an English teacher no less, so words should be fairly easy; yet, I have found that more and more I struggle with basic English. Me thinks that this whole stress thing is beginning to bog me down. Oh well, I am blissfully...wistfully...yep wistfully trying to maintain or at least gain some optimism here.

So, to start off with, I thought I'd put some pictures up.

First, here is an updated version of my classroom. Still a little empty in terms of the walls, but I like this desk arrangement slightly better than my previous one [I had them in groups before, and while that served a purpose, this was better]. It was a nice way to start a new semester and shake things up a bit.

Next is my current pile. Textbook with a list of the standards and my trusty green pen. My students are reading The Odyssey right now and I am really enjoying the enthusiasm some of them feel. It makes up for those that are bored by it and the issues I am having with our grading system. I used to think I was technologically savvy, and then I entered education. I forget that my brain must be able to function both in the English world, and understand some of the math stuff too. I've always been bad at numbers, and that has caused me a ton of frustrations. BUT, the bright side is that I am loving learning new things. 

Now this last one was a student gift from December. A student came up to me, gave me a bag with the lanyard in it (a nice change from a hideous blue one I had). She said "Here.....because you don't have enough Harry Potter stuff". At the time, she was right. I only had one other Harry Potter thing. I love this lanyard so much, and I love being able to put my name tag in one side of it.

I really have learned so much over the last few months. It is hard because things tend to come all at once. I've never been good at handling that. But, I have an excellent support system and amazing students. I forget how much 14/ 15 yr olds change in just a short time. It has been so fun getting to watch my students grow in a multitude of ways. Some of those ways are even academic! :-) 

But, for serious here. This has been a banner year, that is for sure. I have met some really kind people and learned so much. I wish that the triumphs outweighed the failures in my heart; but in some ways, I think that is what makes me who I am. Having the chance to learn about both myself, and about my craft has been a dream. Now, my only hope is to simply follow Dory's advice and 

I hope all of my wonderful readers (all three of you) are doing well. Just keep swimming and maybe we will all make it to June! :-)