Friday, August 27, 2010

The Good Kind of Tired

After a full week, it seems like we are in full-on school mode. I am pretty beat, today, after a summer of not really pushing myself everyday, the grind of the "waking at 5 and working til 5" week caught up with me about Wednesday.

After Monday, I felt awesome. The day had gone really well, I had accomplished everything that I had planned to accomplish, I was remembering my students' names (mostly) and beginning to make and strengthen connections, I didn't turn the wrong way when I got to the bottom of the stairwell on my way out of school (like I had done every day the week before). It was a good day. Even Tuesday, while not as perfect as Monday, due to my lack of experience with freshmen (truly, the squirrels of the high school world), left me feeling pretty amped. But, by Wednesday, my tail was hanging kind of low. While walking the dogs that evening, I decided I wasn't going to make it to my regular basketball game. I was just too tired. And yesterday, I came home from work and proceeded to fall asleep on the couch for a half an hour.

So, it will take a week or two to build up my stamina again, I guess. But, still, a lot is going well. I am really on top of things as far as planning goes. I am doing a better job of being more explicit about the class objectives with my kiddos. I am leaving work knowing that I am totally prepared for the next day (whereas I am usually fairly prepared and I leave a few things to run off or create in the mornings). Granted, this is just the eighth day of school. It's easy to keep it together for a week. Check back with me in October. But, while I am physically tired, I feel more in control and more sure of myself than I ever have before as a teacher. It's sort of scary. You know, in a good way.

4 comments:

Jami Wade said...

Sounds like a pretty great start to a new environment and school year to me. The big question is.....do you have a happy hour group set up for Friday afternoons yet?

ATR said...

No. That is a proposition that will need a matter of study. A committee, consisting of myself, is looking into it. However, the entire committee knows that a long time ago, in a little town in Missouri, we caught lightning in a bottle for a little while, and we are not even entertaining the notion of recreating that beautiful situation.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great start! Wish you the best this year :)

AMVB said...

You go, Reda! A strong start. I liked your fierce FB status on Monday and see that it carried through the week even as you were worn down eventually. You rock!

Anon AMVB