one year and six months later...

Wow! It has been forever since I updated this thing. I was only halfway through my first school year the last time I blogged! Now I sit here on summer vacation after finishing my second year! I guess it doesn't really matter that I have neglected this poor blog. I really write in it for me--I'm not sure too many people know of its existence =P

I would just scrap the whole thing, but it was kind of fun to read back on the experiences from last year's teaching. I think I will try and start up again. Plus, it's summer! So, I should have plenty of time...

This past school year in so many ways was wonderful. I truly enjoyed my sophomores--to the point that I was genuinely sad to see them go at the end of the year. And not just that nostalgic feeling teachers get at the end of the year simply because they know they won't deal with those kids again. I think the kids feel the same way a bit. They kept asking if I could have them again as seniors. I only wish that I could! I will still see some of the girls often though, because I am now the assistant coach for the Varsity girls' basketball team. Crazy to take on, I know, but I think it should be a fun and fulfilling experience once I get more comfortable with it.

Next year will be a bit different. For one thing, I am no longer teaching freshmen. This makes me happy for several reasons. Namely, I won't be teaching freshmen. Also, my grading load will go down tremendously since I will not be teaching the grammar and composition. Instead, I will be teaching an ESL class, which I am somewhat nervous about. I don't really have any clue how to do this, and we are supposedly going to have a workshop on it. I really hope that we do! I also may be teaching a creative writing class. If so, I would also like to go to a workshop for that. I am not great at just throwing things together, and to be honest, I think it does a disservice to the students and the parents when you just try and skate by. I do not have the personality that allows me to think "just getting by" is okay. I think that is what has made me successful.

In my personal life, I made a New Year's resolution to read at least one book each month. So far, I am ahead of the curve. I have read Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham; Love Wins by Rob Bell; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane; No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy; Lord of the Flies by William Golding and a couple others that I am not able to think of without getting up to look at my bookshelf! Needless to say, I thorougly enjoyed some of the books and found a few others very difficult to get through.

Today I am going to Borders to pick up The Poisonwood Bible and maybe a couple other novels. I will try and write an analysis after my next read. Maybe soon I will write my opinion on some of the novels that I have read so far this year. For now, I think I will go purchase my new ones!