during college, i never thought i'd ever be as busy as i was during my LOG days. countless sleepless nights preparing for concerts, rallies, meetings, and retreats...staying up late to study for midterms and finals (the only two times during the quarter when i studied)...or spending a few hours of spontenaity with the girls. my life was busy then. but nothing could have prepared me for the busyness of being a teacher.
i wake up in the morning and begin mentally preparing for the day. then i go to school and attempt to inspire and educate the masses. inbetween my teaching i busy myself with tasks that would usually be done by other staff at the school, but since we don't have enough people on staff, everyone has to pick up slack. after school i can be found a.) facilitating the school paper meeting, b.) helping with student council, c.) directing the children's choir, d.) working on the yearbook, or e.) tutoring, all the while entertaining parents' concerns about their children. i'm the last to leave school at around 5 or 5:30pm. when i get home i eat, talk to David and my family, and begin grading the 130 pieces of paper/worksheets/essays and various student work i have every night (65 students x 2 pieces of work per student). i go to bed thinking about how my students are doing in class and what i am going to teach the next day. despite all of this, i am loving what i do.
we are learning about Saints this week, and i told my kids that Saints were ordinary people who did things with extraordinary love. i have to remind myself to be like the Saints...
one day last week i talked to my students about a friend of mine who needed prayers. i asked my kids if they could do me a favor and help me help him. so, my 18 sixth graders made cards with inspring notes inside of them for my friend. some drew pictures of jets and planes, others drew men dressed in camoflauge with big thick glasses, and some even cut out different color designs to make them look pretty. after the kids turned them in, i commented on how beautiful they were, not yet knowing the beauty that rested within. i read the cards that brought tears to my eyes, and thanked God for sending me students that continually teach me about what love is. here are some of my favorites...
*note: names are ommited for fear of one of my kids searching for our names and finding me!
Dear Mr. A,
I hope you are doing well in boot camp. I admire those who sacrifice their lives to serve their country. I appreciate what you are working for and I will keep you and the rest of your troops in my prayers. Salamat pos a ginagawan ‘yo. Lahat ng ginagawa n’yo ay nata tulong samin. God bless you. =) P.S. Sorry for sp. errors in my tagalog!
Dear Mr. A,
I hope you are doing well at your boot camp. I admire your courage and determination to do such a hard job. I will pray for your safety and wish you luck.
I am in Miss H’s class and my name is J. Miss H explained a little about you and she encouraged us to write letters to you. Thank you for reading this letter. I hope you succeed at your training. Take Care.
Dear Mr. A,
I hope you’re not feeling too bad there. I know it’s really heard at boot camp but if you want to join the Air Force you have to deal with it. Once you’re done you can join and I’ve heard it’s a fun job. People say you get a good feeling knowling you’re one of the people who’s protecting American citizens from terrorists.
I hope you enjoy your career in the Air Force. Try your best always and everywhere. Make sure as many pilots come back as possible.
Dear Mr. Anaclento,
I wish you good luck at bootcamp. Miss H, my homeroom teacher, told me about it. I would like to know when you have to sleep and when you have to wake up. And I would also like to know what kind of things you do at bootcamp.
Everyone here at school is praying for you. The person who misses you the most is probably Miss H.
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