My First Day of Third Grade

I survived my first day of third grade, for the second time in my life. The difference is that this time I wasn't the awkward new kid coming in in the middle of the year. This time I was the awkward new teacher coming in the day before Day 1 and pretending to be in…

Adult?

I suppose that I should accept the adult things I'm starting to have to do in my life. Adulthood always seemed to far away and distant, and I didn't mind that. And then one day it was suddenly tapping me on the shoulder, and I ran like the wind.  Still am, I think. But in…

True or False: God Never Gives You More Than You Can Handle

I won't believe you if you say you've never been told in a time of difficulty "well, don't worry. God never gives you more than you can handle." If you haven't had this said to you directly, you have heard it said to someone else. But is it really true? The way I see it there…

Here’s the Thing!

Okay lately I've been struggling with words. For a while I thought maybe I didn't have a thing to say, but I think maybe it was just this problem of execution. As it turns out, if there's something we're thinking, even if it's hard to describe, it is highly likely that someone else has found…

Grad School Searches are Terrifying!

It has occurred to me that maybe instead of putting off further education for down the line, maybe I should just dive back in as soon as possible. In the process of entertaining this idea, I decided it couldn't hurt to look into a couple of grad schools offering masters programs and see what there…

Resolution

It was years ago that I once and for all gave up the notion of making New Year's Resolutions. Of all the resolutions I've made in my life, never have I accomplished a single one the whole year through. And I know that this is common - it's even a running joke. But when I…

Adulting

Just last week I woke up and discovered quite to my dismay that I'm an adult. Another discovery came swiftly on the tail of the first: I'm bad at adulting. I barely even noticed the difference when it happened. One day I was in university trying to overcome my natural tendency toward procrastination, and the…

Lessons Learned

I'm not sure if I teach more lessons as a teacher, or learn more. This week alone I've taught so much. In history we discussed coats of arms and designed our own, populating them with symbols of our values. We also learned local history of New Hampshire. I taught early algebra in math class -…

I am not a carpet.

Despite being somewhat of a pessimist at heart, I have always been one to believe that people are inherently and intrinsically good, and that evils happen despite that. In my gloomier teenage years I may have said otherwise, but that was just because nobody showed up for my pity party. People are good at their…

Year’s End

My first year of teaching is coming to a close. I am 98% relieved by this, 1% shocked, and 1% baffled. Out of the sixteen students I've taught this year, I can't say that any will be forgettable. With each child I've had moments and stories that I will be sharing intermittently for the rest…