Things they don't teach you in school

I am slowly finding out there are many things they don't teach you about teaching in school. Some examples from this week are:

1. How many meetings you will have. Just this week I have 5! I have 3 meetings T, W and Th from 8-8:50 and 2 meetings T and Th from 4:30-5:30ish. Did I mention that is just this week?!

2. Plan times aren't usually for planning. Every week I lose my plan Tuesday so classroom teachers can collaborate and every Thursday to collaborate with the Music and PE teacher about behavior.

3. How attached you can get to kids. I had a class of kindergartners bring tears to my eyes talking about their "Dads". I use quotations here because nothing they mentioned sounded like the kind of Dad I am familiar with.

4. Triaging is such a great way to make kids feel special and find someone they can really trust. I have started triaging with 2 students and may be getting another one soon. These kids know they can come to me with anything even if it is just a little hug and smile...it may be the only they get that day.

5. You dream about your work. I very rarely make it through the night without dreaming about something going on in my class. It is usually the kind of dream I wake up to then re-dream it a little differently the next few times. Things like setting up materials and the process of handing them out.

I am of course still loving my job but like many other jobs it is a roller coaster ride. I have days where I am on a high and feeling really great about how everything is going. I also have days where I just can't seem to catch up and feel like I am set up to fail. Luckily for me I have wonderful kids and staff members to help me through the uphill days.