Being Stalked

At the end of my long run this week, about 2 blocks from my house, a car passed me. It slowed down about 20 feet ahead of me and slowly stopped. I didn't think anything of it until it stopped in the middle of the road. Weird.

I ran by. As I got even with the grill of the car I heard a kid's voice, "Ms. Zaher!!!"

I turned around to see one of my students being driven home from driver's ed (God help us all!) by his mom.

He was grinning ear to ear.

These are the moments I feel so blessed to be called to teaching.

#290: My students

Nine weeks into the school year I am beginning to settle into life at my new job. What I have discovered about myself and my students:

• I am really an 8th grade girl at heart. Let me just say I wouldn't go back to junior high for all the money in the world, but so much of my personality makes sense around junior high-ers.
• They appreciate the really simple, fun things in life, such as "color of the day".
• They notice when today's "Number of the Day" is the same as yesterday's.
• They read about the Mathematician of the Day only to see when he/she died.
• They are super literal--my people.
• They do not understand sarcasm. Not only does this force me to not use it, but often I don't get it either.
• They sing along to the same music I like when I play it in the morning.
• I love that many of us live in the same neighborhood. One day I encountered a skunk smell on my ride to school and got to discuss it with the students who also ride their bikes from my part of town.
• They really want to learn.
• They make awesome designs with their goldfish.
• They are willing to play whatever corny game I come up with, and usually make it way better.
• They don't mind that I mess up a lot.
• Every day they let me start over.
• They always forgive.

I love them. I love teaching them.

Blessing #142: A new job

This week, I was offered and accepted a new job in the school district!  I'll be moving to a junior high closer to home.  I'm so excited!

• I now get to know what it's like to work at a traditional school.
• I can ride my bike to work.
• A few friends already work there, and they say it's full of wonderful people.

I'm also super grateful for the 4 years I've been at my current school, which was my first contractual teaching job.  Some of the gazillion insights I gleamed at my current position:

• I learned boundaries (thanks to students that don't have any) quickly.
• My teaching improved quickly.  Because students have no filter and just absolutely disengage when they aren't interested or don't get something, I tried new stuff a lot to help them learn.
• I learned that student behavior is generally not about me.  Their acting out almost never has anything to do with me.
• Students really do want to learn.
• Students really just want to please their teacher (sometimes way, way, WAY down deep).
• I can easily go to Costco every other day (school is right by it).
• Teenagers are people.
• Teenagers care about each other and the people in their lives.
• Some teenagers go through more by the age of 15 than some of us ever go through in our entire lives.
• I am a good teacher.
• I have more patients than I ever thought possible.
• To say no.  Then say no again.  Then keep saying no until they stop asking.
• People are more important than math.

Blessing #35: A relationship restored

Loving my job today!

I don't want to be very specific, but it goes generally like this:  a student was struggling in class who didn't used to struggle in class.  We talked it out, I made a few changes, we did class.  Afterwards the student thanked me and reported feeling really good about class and feeling successful.  Hurrah! 

Our relationship has been restored, but even better.  We were able to articulate our needs and adjust the way we did things.  I learned so much from this one incident: 

• how to work through a tough situation with a student;  
• that students really do want to learn and have a good idea of what they need to do so;  
• that my relationships with my students are super important to me and 
• that I can absolutely feel it when there is a disturbance in the force and that
• I should listen to that disturbance and root it out.

Encounters like this remind me that my job is so much more than teaching math; it is about relationships.