Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I always take time during the New Year to reflect upon the days that are behind me, and how to improve the days ahead of me. One might call this a New Year's Resolution.

To reflect upon my year thus far, my teaching block was wonderful. The amount that I learned in those four weeks of teaching was more than I could have learned reading any textbook. I've gone back to visit my kids, and the welcome that I recieve every time I go is very heartwarming. Living away from home I truly appreciate the warm welcome and guidance that I recieve from the staff and students at my placement school. It feels like I'm a part of their family, their very large extended family.

What I learned from this teaching block is that teaching will in fact be a 24 hour day / 7 day a week job. When I spent the holiday with my five and six year old nephew and niece I realized that I remained in the role of the teacher. When they argued with one another I used discipline techniques we've been learning in class. When they asked a question, I asked them to brainstorm answers on their own before I answered them. I gave them workbooks for Christmas (which probably makes me the worst aunt in the world). I'm not sure if it is avoidable, but this year I feel like we're making the transformation from student to teacher.

So how can I improve the days ahead of me this year? The goal is to stay sane. With school work and application deadlines soon approaching, I imagine the beginning of this year will be stressful and busy. There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything finished, so there's no point in trying to do so. I will do my best this year to find a balance between work, applications, and time for friends and family. I feel like I neglected to spend time with friends and family last year as I was so caught up in school work. Since I've realized how busy the life of the teacher really is, I need to balance my life a little bit better.

Soooooo...who wants to have a social?