Reflections on the past week

Happy Sunday! Here in Massachusetts, weeks seem to go by slowly (because so much happens in a week in 5th grade) and weekends seem to go by all too quickly to get everything done and still have time to spend relaxing.  It seems like the work never ends.

Looking back on the week, I feel like I'm getting a sense of who my students are and what their strengths are. I also realize that I need to work on my verbiage. There were times this week when I misspoke and confused my students or when I talked to quickly for them to understand. I am working on figuring out how to get students to come up with the answers on their own rather than telling them the answer.  I also need to work on being less casual in my approach to teaching. Coming from working at camp all summer, it's easy to slip into being slightly sarcastic (which high schoolers understand) or trying to "be friends" with my students. I have to remember that school and camp are not the same! I need to amp up my professionalism.

Outside of work, things are good. I got to spend time with a coworker this weekend painting pottery, I ran to the post office (about a 2 mile run total), I caught up with Christa and Audrey some, and watched a movie! I cooked some decent meals for myself while Skyping with Wes :)  It was a good weekend despite having to grade an assessment and student journals.

I've also been spending a lot of time thinking about questions like "Why, as Christians, are we hesitant to bring up Jesus' name?" We can tell people that we believe in God without it being taboo, but once we bring up Jesus, it's a whole new ballgame. Even when I pray I realize that I pray to God the Father, rather than Jesus. Jesus is the reason we believe what we do, so why don't we give him more attention?

Another idea I've been thinking of is the concept of time. So often we say "there are not enough hours in the day to do everything we need to do," but I think God created the 24 hour day because it IS enough time. We just spread ourselves thin and get involved in too many things, including spending hours on the computer. Then we ask the question, "where did all my time go?" If Jesus could heal, teach, and spend time with people during a 24 hour day, we can too.

My goal for the next week is to spend less time on the computer and more time on journaling and really investing in teaching and reaching my students. This is more important than looking at the latest pictures on Facebook or watching a show on Hulu just because it's there.  I hope you all have a good week! Continue to pray for me as I get used to the routine of school and that I become an effective teacher. I want my students to do well, but I'm still learning how to get them there.