And the ride continues!

What a week this has been! My roller coaster ride is still going at full speed, but I think I am finally starting to find a balance between all of these ups and downs. Well, I was starting to. Unfortunately, I was thrown for a HUGE loop today.

I was informed this morning that I am losing one of my 7th grade math classes. This class is being replaced with a 6th grade language arts class. This terrifies me! I am a math/science kind of person. Language arts is definitely not my strong point, and these kids are coming from 2 different classes. So, I am at a loss as to where I should even start. To make matters worse, I had less than a days notice since the switch takes affect tomorrow. Also, this makes 4 different lesson plans to create for each day. EEEK!

My poor math class was none too pleased with this bit of news either. This is the third teacher change this class has had to deal with since the beginning of school. After the news was broken to them, one of my students asked me why I was abandoning them. Despite the rough patches I have had, this was the first time I have struggled to hold back tears in front of my students. It broke my heart that these kids thought I was giving up on them. Of course, I made sure to reassure them that I am not abandoning them and that I will be there if they need me. This was actually my roughest class period, and it has been a struggle to spend more time teaching than disciplining. Despite the troubles, these kids have all touched my heart in one way or another, and I feel as though I am in mourning.

I absolutely love what I am doing, and I can't imagine ever doing anything else. However, it has been a real struggle for me to come to terms with some of the distractions and unnecessary obstacles some of these kids have to go through just to get an education.

One of the bright spots, however, is the wonderful group of teachers that I am working with. I have had so many fellow teachers go out of their way to help me get settled, and I don't know what I would do without them. I can already see what a special bond teachers share with each other. I am so proud to finally be able to stand among this wonderful group of professionals and to be able to call myself an educator!