10 Things I’ve Learned from Teaching

Thanks to the wonderful Miss Kindergarten we have this fun linky party today!!! I hope ya’ll join in on the fun    Going into my fourth year of teaching, there are quite a few things I have learned on my journey. 1. You will know everything and more about your kiddos parents. Trust me… most of it is stuff you wish you didn’t know!!! 2. Never underestimate just how many boogers you will see and farts you will hear in a school year. You think you hit max capacity one year, the next year can be doubled!!! 3. Your creative mind NEVER…EVER…EVER….EVERRRR… STOPS! You get a break that lasts about a week (usually first week of summer break) and then it starts back up again. No wonder we teachers get so exhausted. (Ex. you walk by a piece of junk and think of the 20+ ways you can use it in your classroom) 4. Before teaching the thought of a summer break sounds MAR-VE-LOUS… that is until you teach for a year and realize it is just a time that you get to work from home in peace and quiet until the next year’s chaos begins. Work, work, work! But we love it. Also, don’t tell me I am lucky to have summers off. US TEACHERS DESERVE IIIIIIIIIT!!!! 5. If the principal or someone else of a high status walks in, that is the omen that everything that could go wrong, WILL GO WRONG. You can’t find the marker that is usually ALWAYS in the exact same spot and you need it NOW!, your kids don’t know ANY of the answers, behavior is out of control, your stutter reaches an all time high, you’re teaching about animals yet the kids think they are learning about the planets, and wait, is that a kid trying to climb up the principal’s leg!?!?!?!? Yeah, it never fails. 6. There will ALWAYS be that one moment (or more!) in a year that you stop and think “THIS is the exact reason why I do what I do.” 7. Clutter and disorganization will be the death of a great school year. Trust me, last year we had ONE day to get our classrooms set up and ready for the year. ONE DAY. Whhaaat?! I was SO unorganized and ran around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. I never truly felt prepared… until about May. Fail. 8. You go into an automatic internal rage when someone says teaching is easy or they think you babysit all day. It got me mad just typing that. Teaching is HARD but if you are a teacher at heart you will love every minute of it. People should really show teachers way more respect than what they do. 9.  Paperwork, writing, paperwork, writing, MORE paperwork, MORE writing…. it’s an endless cycle, really. You never know how much paper work teachers do until you actually become a teacher. And no one can really warn you about the intensity until you experience it yourself. 10. Flexibility: Plans never are as planned. I am an avid believer that EVERY teacher should have this framed on their desk: I made and framed one for everyone in my grade level and for my best friend who will be starting her first year of teaching this school year!