Simple Bliss…

I LOVE the hugs smiles on my four first graders faces! These are cropped from the full pictures that were taken of them on the first day of school (which also explains why the photos are grainy – a very small part of the picture).

A little bit funny and a lot a bit true!

After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said:

“Let me see if I’ve got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. And I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T- shirt messages and dress habits.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self- esteem.

You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, make sure all students pass the mandatory state exams, even those who don’t come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments.

Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap. And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card. All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps.

You want me to do ALL of this…and you expect me NOT TO PRAY?”

As I come into my second year of teaching I want to document more of the small moments. This job would be a miserable one if not for the ability to see little progress, to rejoice in small changes, and to celebrate all the little things that make it wonderful.

I have read about people doing the 365 project in which they take a picture every day of an entire year. Some of these people do it to gain better photography skills and some do it to better document their lives. My goal is to document my second year of teaching by taking at least one picture every school day that represents something important to remember about the day. I would like to keep track of my year through this blog.

Sometimes the pictures will be of things in my classroom, places in my school, or completed tasks that represent my memory of the day. Some days the pictures will be of those sweet student faces – because, even when they are behaving horribly they have the sweetest faces. Unfortunately, I will not be able to post those pictures (at least not without editing them to disguise identity). I wish I could share their sweet smiles and share my love of them, but I have to respect their privacy and need for safety.

I’m not sure what this will look like here on my blog. My hope would be to be able to do a weekly post with my five pictures from the school week. We will just have to see what happens as this year gets started and those precious little ones again fill my days with joy and tears!