Unpredictable Environment

The beginning of this school year was very difficult for me.  It was my first actual beginning of a school year and I started off with 11 more kids than I'd had the year before.  I've learned to love teaching first grade.  That being said, teaching first grade at the beginning of the school year is more like teaching an extension of kindergarten.

I spent the first few weeks of school in literal shock at all the changes.  I had a wild bunch of kiddies at the time, and I was still trying to figure out the best way to begin the year.  I cried many days after school.  I felt like I was trying everything I possibly could and I had real doubts as to whether or not I'd be able to get through to the little buggers.

Just when I was about to throw in the towel, I was called for Jury Duty.  I thought, Hell, a couple days to sit in a quiet room?  Sounded like a vacation to me.

Well, by the time I had graded all my papers, sitting in that quiet room lost its sparkle.  I was bored out of my mind.  I thought being called into a courtroom would be exciting--and it was, until the stuffy judge went over all the rules.

I shifted in my chair, wondering when I'd be able to go to recess.  Literally.

My point is, that having Jury Duty was a blessing for me.  I thought it would be an escape from my reality when in actuality, it was a sign that I was in the right profession.

I work in an unpredictable environment. Teachers know. Parents know.  You can never pinpoint exactly when a child is going to shoot milk out of his nose.  When the fire alarm is going to send everyone out of the building.  When the toilet is going to overflow on a bathroom break.  When a scholar is going to fart in the middle of a lesson--sending everyone (EVERYONE) into roaring laughter.  Sitting in that courtroom, breathing in the stuffy air, I missed my untamed first grade friends.

The lesson for me is, I want to be a teacher, not a judge, juror, defense lawyer, or anyone present in a courtroom...ever.