Getting Ready for a New School Year!

It is August 7, 2019... today was the first day of school for public school teachers. It is no different in our small private school, since we follow the same schedule. I have been working off and on all summer either thinking about what to teach, finding stuff on Pinterest, or actually working in my room. There used to be a a statement... " 3 of the best reasons to teach, June, July, and August. The thing is a teacher never stops being a teacher and as you can see (in Louisiana at least) August is no longer a reason.

Things that need to be organized in folders!

Files all organized!

Desk set up... I still need a teaching table! 

I never stop thinking about teaching. I am always thinking about the same three things over and over (there are actually more but these are the ones I think about most), "how can I improve?", "what should I teach?", and "why am I so bad at my job?" You may think I am crazy, but I spend a majority of my time pondering these questions.

I want to be the best teacher I can be, to honor and glorify God, since He is the reason I do this job. I don't do it for the money, never have, because this is the WRONG profession to be in to make money, especially in a private school. Believe me public school is no better, I am teaching now, because I can't live on my retirement and God said, "I am not finished with you yet!"

So how can I improve? In what ways can I, as a seasoned teacher continue to grow and learn to improve my abilities? Just that way.... By learning something everyday if possible, or at least searching out new things. I have always told my students if they are not willing to learn something new they might as well be dying... because our minds need the stimulation, without it, it will start to die. So, I read, I blog, I program, I talk to others, and I attend classes or conferences. I continue to grow my mind and my knowledge. I can study the Bible too! Yes, that does help me, don't ask me how but it does!

What should I teach? Again you may be thinking well, DUH! Reading, Arithmetic, Language, Writing, all the other subjects, and Bible in my school, right. I guess it isn't so much what to teach but how should it be taught. I want learning to be fun, and to cause the students to want to continue to learn long after they have left the school system. I want them to be excited to know that 2 x 2 equals 4 and that birds didn't come from dinosaurs (contrary to popular belief). I want them to know that just because dinosaurs are real that doesn't mean that evolution is, that the Bible actually talks about them.

“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles.
He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron.”         Job 40:15-18

There are more references in Job to dinosaurs but this is the one that I believe really shows it. It tells of a Brontosaurus, or an Apatosaurus, with large legs and a tail like a cedar, ribs like the bars on a jail cell. Don't you get a picture of...

from: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/apatosaurus-brontosaurus-rising

In chapter 41, God speaks of Leviathan, which could possible be a dragon of some kind. Boys love to learn about these things. I want them to want to learn, so how do I teach to make it fun and exciting? I am always trying new things and I hope if you know some things I can try, that you would share them.

The last question is an esteem question. I am not a good teacher in my mind. I never have been, I have been told that by a few people, in particular a principal or two. Words have meanings, words hurt, words invade and stay in our minds. This is why I TRY... to choose my words as carefully as possible. I fight the floods of negative comments that replay daily in my mind! I don't want that for my students, I want them to know that even if they can't get math, they can succeed at other things or that if they are good at everything they should not look down on people who might not be as well rounded.

Teaching is a hard and time consuming profession, if you are doing it right. It is a life long profession... I will probably be a teacher in one way or another until the day I die (no time soon I hope)! I will continue to ask those question about my professional teaching, my Sunday school teaching, my AWANA teaching, and any other teaching God puts before me. Your prayers in this endeavor are appreciated!

Thanks for Reading. God Bless You!