Patience, patience, patience. That seems to be the buzz word of the last few weeks! I think the best virtue a teacher can have is patience. I have realized in the last few weeks just how much patience I have as well as how much patience I still need to be a teacher. Most of my students are fabulous....they are loveable and sweet and they draw me pictures and even if they don't turn their work in on time sometimes, they are easy to love.
---Also, I would like to take this moment to say that I do love all of them...and I do like all of them...even when they are about to drive me up the wall and through the ceiling. I understand that they are just children but I do need some sort of outlet to vent about my beloved children so I am doing that here and now.---
There are a select few of my students with whom I must "count to ten" with. These are the students who have behavior contracts and who have honesty issues and who must be told and reminded over and over and over to turn in their papers or to correct their papers or to use their strategies...blahblahblah....
As frustrating as it is, all you need is patience. (and liquor sometimes...just sayin'!) About 98% of the time, these kids have reasons why they are the way they are. The other 2%, well, those are pretty rare cases that we won't talk about now :)
Patience has also come in handy for me when it comes to working with other people. I think any other teacher or intern or apprentice or personworkingwithorunderanotherperson can appreciate what I am about to say. I so appreciate everything my cooperating teacher has done and is doing for me this semester. She is an AWESOME teacher and I am learning so much from her...and I am not just saying this to be politically correct. However, I can't wait to just have my own classroom. I want to be the only one in charge in my classroom. I want to be the only one students come to with questions, the only authority figure, the one who decorates the room, the one who sits behind the desk. (While I'm at it, I can't WAIT to have my own house! I've been diving into Pottery Barn magazines and HGTV and drooling over decor ideas.) I think these are all pretty normal things to be feeling when you're in my position. I'm sure on my first day of school as a brand new teacher I will be wishing I had a seasoned teacher with me!
School isn't the only place I have needed patience this semester. I knew it was going to be hard to be away from everyone in College Station this semester and I was right. I am absolutely loving being in Austin with Pat and Allison and spending time with Rachel and Whitney (before Whitney jets off to NYC!) It is wonderful here. But just like I imagined, I look on Facebook and see things that I'm missing out on and I feel a little pang of pain/jealousy/homesickness. Now, I am not writing this to make anyone feel guilty...that is certainly not my intent. This is just an area of my life where I am having to utilize patience. I have always tried to do everything in my power to be everywhere that I could in order to not miss out on anything...if I had multiple things scheduled for one weekend I would try to do all of them. I always took off work for everything including A&M games, family weekends, retreats, etc, because I couldn't bear to miss any of it. Now I am missing out on one thing to experience this other great thing and it is just going to have to be a learning experience. I must learn not to be neurotic (I inherited insane neurosis, thanks Mom!) when people don't return phone calls or texts right away. Distance changes things and I will admit that I am bad at those things sometimes, too. Patience.
So the theme? Patience. Patience is always a virtue, a must, a necessity. At this point in my life I am waiting on a lot of things, so the song "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller will always have a special place in my heart. It helps me to stay patient :)
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