Reflections of an Edumakator

Wow. It is hard to believe that we are at the end of the school year with classes slowly (in the elementary & jr. high) and quickly (in high school) wrapping up for the year. It does NOT feel like there should only be 9 teaching days left (10 if we count today) - where did the time go? Still feels like the first week of school some days.

My first year as a teacher in the North has gone by fairly well. I survived (lol)!. It has been challenging at times (I will not lie), but in all it did go fairly smoothly. Don't get me wrong, there were times that I was getting ready to just throw in the towel and make a run for it as I was pushed to the brink of sanity. I held on, and rode the wave of insanity ... which I feel (or at least hope) has made me a stronger and more well rounded teacher.

And to all of you new Education graduates from my Alma Matter, congrats! Now... forget everything (well... almost everything) that you learned as the real world, is not like how it is described in the classroom. Believe me, there were days that I wanted to call some of my profs and ask them "where exactly is the class that we always talked about during lectures? Cause I have a great class for you to come up and see ....."

Now, hang on before everyone starts to jump down my throat - my education that I received was excellent - I couldn't have asked for a better group of professors and instructors to guide me through my educational process; however, I will still maintain that all of my education did not prepare me for the "non-standardized, perfect hypothetical" classroom. The real classroom is a whole other bucket of fish... and how I have learned this year. Everything that I thought I knew, or experienced teaching in the south was forgotten and abandoned. It was back to the drawing board .... and a completely different style of teaching

Teaching elementary has been an eye opener (especially when you are a trained secondary / adult ed teacher). I wasn't too sure about teaching elementary in the beginning, wondering completely what I had exactly gotten my self into. But ya know what? Those little kiddies are like sponges! They soak everything in! I have enjoyed my time teaching k-4, but I am also looking forward to next year's changes where I will have a stronger high school focus (and reconnecting to my "educational roots") and only one (or two?) elementary groups.

Teaching high school has also been an eye opener. This year, was a rough year for the high school crowd as they were dealing with a massive turn-over in high school staff and at the same time, trying to gain trust in the new high school teachers that arrived in August. It has been a bumpy ride at times, but next year should be a lot smoother since there is no expected high school staff turn-over.

And with reflections of a year, comes the opportunity for change. Next year will be brining many changes to my life up here in the North. Some that will benefit me professionally, others that will benefit me personally. I'm not quite ready to spill the details just yet, but when I am ready, the world will be the second group to know.


Taima