trying to teach...

so it has been awhile since i have updated. september and october have been pretty insane months. we just finished our first nine weeks of school so i am officially halfway done with my first semester of teaching. i can without a doubt say that this has been the most difficult nine weeks of my life, but has taught me more than i could even begin to imagine or describe. i can't even begin to go into what these nine weeks have been like, but if i had to sum it up in a cute, cliche phrase it would without a doubt be: up and down. some days have been great, some days kids seem to have learned something in my class, while others have been.... well... rough. a few quick notes...

the other day a kid in my second period class (the roughest class by far) stole a giant bag of candy out of my desk and proceeded to throw said candy at the rest of the class (i was not happy). the day before that i tried to help some of the kids out by letting them use calculators and they proceed to take out the batteries and turn off the screen displays and then tell me the calculators were broken just to throw me off. its amazing what kids will do to try to keep you from teaching your lesson.

i am planning on taking one of my worst behaved kids out to dinner this week, i really hope that helps me get through to him. some of my kids are so completly uninvested in my class, school, or really anything. i want so badly to get through to at least a couple of them.

our football team hasn't had the season we had hoped for... we are now 3-3 but still hoping for a big run in the playoffs. auburn has been horrifically dissappointing after a start that was way too good to be true. i was an idiot and ran my mouth of the week before the arkansas game, bad idea....

i've been blessed to meet some awesome people here in the helena. i've got three great roommates and several people at my school who are great at listening to me vent as a source of aleviating stress when things aren't going so well. i've also gotten involved in a church right down the street from my house, through which i've become involved in a community group on sunday nights which has been a welcome break from thinking about teaching 24-7.

i am giving this thing pretty much all i have right now, and so far i have experienced little to no data-based success. my kids are failing (gave out 40% Fs the first nine weeks.) however, at the end of the day as long as i can look myself in the mirror and say i'm pouring myself into this job and into these kids then i can sleep soundly. i know am i where i need to be, and i don't for one spilt second regret the decision to come teach in helena, arkansas. it is hard, but such is life. life is hard, but life is also good. keep me in your prayers. i hope to hear from some of you guys soon. peace.

(ps - this is simply meant as an honest update as to how my life is, not as any sort of pity party or venting session. i hate it when people do that.)