Tuesday, September 2, 2008

The first day, for the second time.

Breath in, breath out.
Breath in, breath out.

‘Breath in, breath out’ were the words that I told myself all day today. Prior to this morning, I told myself that if I could just make it through the first day, than I would be good. Thankfully, I am happy to say that I feel good with how the first day went. But I definitely need to figure out ways that I can walk away not feeling so drained. This job is not easy. And nobody said it would be. Many times I had to tell myself to lower my voice and change my tone. In fact, I told my students that if they hear me raising my voice to put me in check, because I would most definitely be checking them if their voice was raised and their tone was off. They laughed. In fact, “Mark” said hesitantly- “You mean.. um.. we can.. uh… tell you to uh… lower your voice?” “Exactly”. But today I really made a strong effort to focus on how I say what I want to say. The power of communication is so strong, I have to not let my message get mistaken due to the delivery. This year I’m going to focus on being as deliberate as possible.

Moving on…

The day was, much like last year- a blur. The periods were shortened due to an extended 1st period where I met my advisees and despite a few schedule overlooks on my part, the day was very smooth. I am excited for the possibilities that this year brings.

Breathing is everything. I am just so thankful that I have had the opportunity to add this experience to my life’s continuum of events, people, jobs, and stories.

Today was a great day, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.

Peace..

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back!! Hopefuly this year will be better for you. I was wondering what had happened to you and I'm very happy to see that you are back out of the pit of death ;-)

laniza said...

What an excellent beginning! I, too, am deliberately focusing on how I speak to my students. Oh, and I'm definitely trying to nip little things (like chatting) in the bud NOW before they become a bigger problem later on in the school year.

Anonymous said...

oh snap. he's back to blogging :-p

Hugh O'Donnell said...

Hey BK, good to see you back in the saddle.

Best wishes for a super year and lots of energy. ;)

ahnka said...

glad you're back.
happy 2nd year!

Ruben Brosbe said...

Good to see your back teaching and blogging. Cohort 14 what what!

educationbyanymeansnecessary said...

Your blog is an absolute pleasure to read. I am going to recommend it to all my friends. Your work makes me feel validated in some of the choices I make, like the day after the election I let my students discuss the whole period everything they wanted to (not math) I thought it was important, like it meant something to them that I couldn't understand but at least I could give them space to talk about it. Your work makes me think I'm justified that I need to keep finding those compromises between the "real work" of developing young minds into inspired creative vibrant forces in this world and the "actual work" of getting them through the math they need to go to college. Thanks for the inspiration. u r awesome!!!!!!