Friday, October 3, 2014

9 Things No One Told Me About Teaching.

Today I finished my 6th week of teaching and I promised myself that I would write a blog post no later than today.

I've started several posts the last few weeks but stopped because I wasn't sure what to say. I wanted to talk about my new job and how wonderful it is, but that wouldn't be the truth. 
The truth? It's hard. Like, the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. That doesn't mean I don't love it -- I do -- but the reason I haven't posted is because I was trying to find the balance between being honest and not complaining.

I knew this was going to be hard. I didn't choose this career because I thought it would be easy. I just didn't know exactly how hard it would be.

It's also extremely rewarding. When students start to really get it, when they hug you and tell you that they love you, when they make you birthday cards and pictures, when you can tell that they are really starting to love learning -- those are the moments that make it all worth it.

I just look forward to the day when those moments outnumber the challenging ones. ;)

Anyway, here is my list of things I've learned in my 6 weeks as a teacher that no one had ever told me (or they had and I didn't believe them). They told me A LOT, but there are some things you just have to experience for yourself.