What I learned in my first week of teaching

I have officially been a preschool teacher for a whole 2 weeks now and I've learned more in that first week than I could've ever imagined.  I often roll my eyes at those facebook posts about how hard nursing is, or teaching, or any other job for that matter. You choose your career and all that goes with it, so complaining/bragging about how much work you do is annoying to me.  I hope this blog doesn't come across as that. These are just some things I've come to notice since being in a classroom.

1.  There's never enough time to prepare for 25 students. Ever.

2.  Weekends are really planning time in disguise. But with the added family and life obligations mixed in.

3.  Parents have high expectations for you as their child's teacher. My expectations for myself are higher than that. 

4.  The degree that I worked my butt off to earn and become a teacher was useless as soon as I signed that contract.  Consider your first year (or 5) full of trainings and meetings and certificate obligations. 

5.  Parent expectations of their child CAN BE pretty low.  My expectations for them are higher.

6.  Have GREAT insurance. There's always a parent or community member waiting for you to screw up so they can cash in. 

7.  The support staff you work with is your greatest asset.  I would rather have a lower pay and awesome co-workers who encourage me and stand by me, than an extra thousand dollars a month. 

8.  The state gets in the way.  ( Can I say that?) There are too many chiefs with no experience making rules and laws about my job.  It's obvious why teachers are burnt out and struggling to meet all the curriculum changes, expectations, test scores, etc while receiving less and less money every year.  But most of them stick with it because they love their students and want to see them succeed. They won't give up on their kids, no matter how ridiculous the requirements get. 

9.  I question every lesson I deliver a hundred times. I constantly look around to see if they're getting it, how can I revise it to make it stick, how can I show their parents they are learning, how can I encourage the parents to work with them at home, am I an effective teacher?  I'm constantly terrified that I will fail them and it keeps me up at night, and wakes me up early, so I can prepare for them even more.

10.  I love them.  My heart is over flowing with love and amazement of each and every child.  They all have something unique and special about them, and I hope and pray I can tap into that and help them grow.  I am blessed beyond measure to be where I am.