Wow! It has been a while since I've blogged! This summer was quick and somewhat jam packed. If you don't know (and you should) I got married just over a month ago! It was incredible! My wedding was fantastic and my wife was beautiful (although that is no surprise)! The day went off without any major problems so that is always good! The honeymoon was also great. We lost a day because we left Syracuse 40 minutes late and missed our connecting flight in Atlanta. Picture the scene in Home Alone where the family runs through the airport to catch their flight...that was Katy and I...except we missed our flight. So we stayed in a Red Roof Inn for the night and it was dirty and their was a cockroach in the room. It was not fun...however, we left early the next morning and got to St. Lucia and had a wonderful time! I will update you on the honeymoon in a day or two. In the meantime, marriage life is great and I am really enjoying calling Katy my wife. She is wonderful and I look forward to our life together!
Other than that, school just started again this week and I will save that for another entry! Thank for reading and hopefully talk to you all soon!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
People who have taught me things this year...
...are really too many to count. However, I thought it would be fun to have a series of blog entries that give some "props" to those around me who have taught me things over the course of this past year. Now these things can be anything from life lessons, stuff at work, or anything really. Now theses are in no particular order so please don't rank them. And here we go!
I will start off with someone who really taught me two important lessons this past year. Now to keep their identity safe I will give her an alias...let's call her "Mel B." Now I met "Mel" about a year ago when I had my first lunch at FM after I was hired. Since then, I have learned many things about the world of education and the world in general but two things really stand out. These two things are lessons I will try to hang on too for as long as I can.
The first thing "Mel" taught me was how much fun teaching can be. When I listen to her stories about teaching and see the way that freshman can make her smile everyday, it really shows me why people get into teaching. There have been days that have been soooo stressful and I just get short with my freshman. And then I hear "Mel" tell some story about something funny that her freshman did (like the time a kid raised his hand and asked to be excused because "his shorts were on backwards") or something interesting they did that just reminds me how young they are and how much impact teachers can have on their lives. Her stories this year and her outlook towards teaching have carried me through many a tough times and I am very much appreciative of that.
The second lesson I feel has had an even bigger impact on my life. I have learned soooo much about love from "Mel". About two years ago (sorry in advance if I get any details wrong) "Mel" met the man of her dreams. Now I did not know her or him yet but I did meet him shortly after I started working at FM. These two loved each other so much it was unreal. They loved each other so much that the fact that he was battling cancer had no affect whatsoever on their plans. "Mel" and her man got married last summer and spent so much time just loving each other and spending time doing the things that they wanted and loved to do. Never once did I hear "Mel" complain or even hear about her husband complain about their situation. They were just so happy to be with each other. Unfortunately, in January, "Mel's" husband lost his battle with cancer. We were all crushed. Now I still didn't know "Mel" super well but I was worried that all I had learned was now going to change after such a tragic event. However, if it is possible, she shows even more love now than the she did before. Some of my favorite memories at work over the past 5 months have been learning so much more about the two of them and how much they love each other. It truly is a blessing to have been a part, albeit a very small part, of their world together.
Now as you may know I am getting married in 5 1/2 weeks. I am lucky enough to have met someone who makes me as happy as I have seen "Mel". What I've learned from her is that no matter how bad things may get, love is the most important thing and make sure you treat everyday like it may be your last together. She truly is one of those special people who enters your life and, even if they may not really know it (unless they read this) they have had a huge impact. So, "Mel" if you read this, thank you so much for sharing your memories and experience with me. Please don't stop! Thank you.
OK...so that one was somewhat mushy but I figured it would be a good start. I will try and do one every day or so...and I will try and make them funny as well. Until next time!
-Jake
I will start off with someone who really taught me two important lessons this past year. Now to keep their identity safe I will give her an alias...let's call her "Mel B." Now I met "Mel" about a year ago when I had my first lunch at FM after I was hired. Since then, I have learned many things about the world of education and the world in general but two things really stand out. These two things are lessons I will try to hang on too for as long as I can.
The first thing "Mel" taught me was how much fun teaching can be. When I listen to her stories about teaching and see the way that freshman can make her smile everyday, it really shows me why people get into teaching. There have been days that have been soooo stressful and I just get short with my freshman. And then I hear "Mel" tell some story about something funny that her freshman did (like the time a kid raised his hand and asked to be excused because "his shorts were on backwards") or something interesting they did that just reminds me how young they are and how much impact teachers can have on their lives. Her stories this year and her outlook towards teaching have carried me through many a tough times and I am very much appreciative of that.
The second lesson I feel has had an even bigger impact on my life. I have learned soooo much about love from "Mel". About two years ago (sorry in advance if I get any details wrong) "Mel" met the man of her dreams. Now I did not know her or him yet but I did meet him shortly after I started working at FM. These two loved each other so much it was unreal. They loved each other so much that the fact that he was battling cancer had no affect whatsoever on their plans. "Mel" and her man got married last summer and spent so much time just loving each other and spending time doing the things that they wanted and loved to do. Never once did I hear "Mel" complain or even hear about her husband complain about their situation. They were just so happy to be with each other. Unfortunately, in January, "Mel's" husband lost his battle with cancer. We were all crushed. Now I still didn't know "Mel" super well but I was worried that all I had learned was now going to change after such a tragic event. However, if it is possible, she shows even more love now than the she did before. Some of my favorite memories at work over the past 5 months have been learning so much more about the two of them and how much they love each other. It truly is a blessing to have been a part, albeit a very small part, of their world together.
Now as you may know I am getting married in 5 1/2 weeks. I am lucky enough to have met someone who makes me as happy as I have seen "Mel". What I've learned from her is that no matter how bad things may get, love is the most important thing and make sure you treat everyday like it may be your last together. She truly is one of those special people who enters your life and, even if they may not really know it (unless they read this) they have had a huge impact. So, "Mel" if you read this, thank you so much for sharing your memories and experience with me. Please don't stop! Thank you.
OK...so that one was somewhat mushy but I figured it would be a good start. I will try and do one every day or so...and I will try and make them funny as well. Until next time!
-Jake
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Year one coming to an end...
..and I have to say, I'm not sure it could have gone any better. Now, this is not to say that there were not days where I wanted to scream and wondered to myself, "Why did I think this was going to be a good idea?" but overall, my first year as a teacher has been fantastic.
One of the most rewarding moments being a teacher occurred during the last week of classes. I created a final assignment for my freshman as somewhat of a time filler but also with the hope that they would fully embrace it and do a fantastic job. Now, I don't know how much time you've spent around 14 year olds lately, but this hope of mine was a stretch. Luckily for me, the first pair to present almost brought tears to my eyes...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Here is what the assignment was: I selected pairs (they HATED this and wanted to pick their own partners, but that would defeat the purpose of the project) and had the kids tell each other three stories about anything that had happened in their lives. During those stories their partners were to take notes, ask questions, and learn all they could about their partner. At the end, they had to do a write-up and give a speech to the class about things they learned about their partner.
Now, I purposefully put kids together that I knew did not "hang out" outside of class. The first group was actually two kids who could not stand each other. When they presented they both spoke about how at the beginning of the year they could not stand each other and dreaded working together. They then BOTH expressed how much they enjoyed learning about the other and how they now know that the other is "not that bad". I sat at my desk in the back of the classroom listening to these two speeches and thought to myself, "This, this right here, is one of the reasons why I got into teaching."
Is everyday like this? Does every assignment end in this way? Do I feel like I will be able to reach every student and impact their world? No to all of these things. However, for three days, and two 3 minute speeches, I felt fulfilled as a teacher.
Not exactly sure how important this all is, but I thought it was something nice to share with anyone who reads this. I very much look forward to my second year teaching. There is so much that I will and want to change and improve on. One thing that I will keep, this assignment at the end of the year.
One of the most rewarding moments being a teacher occurred during the last week of classes. I created a final assignment for my freshman as somewhat of a time filler but also with the hope that they would fully embrace it and do a fantastic job. Now, I don't know how much time you've spent around 14 year olds lately, but this hope of mine was a stretch. Luckily for me, the first pair to present almost brought tears to my eyes...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Here is what the assignment was: I selected pairs (they HATED this and wanted to pick their own partners, but that would defeat the purpose of the project) and had the kids tell each other three stories about anything that had happened in their lives. During those stories their partners were to take notes, ask questions, and learn all they could about their partner. At the end, they had to do a write-up and give a speech to the class about things they learned about their partner.
Now, I purposefully put kids together that I knew did not "hang out" outside of class. The first group was actually two kids who could not stand each other. When they presented they both spoke about how at the beginning of the year they could not stand each other and dreaded working together. They then BOTH expressed how much they enjoyed learning about the other and how they now know that the other is "not that bad". I sat at my desk in the back of the classroom listening to these two speeches and thought to myself, "This, this right here, is one of the reasons why I got into teaching."
Is everyday like this? Does every assignment end in this way? Do I feel like I will be able to reach every student and impact their world? No to all of these things. However, for three days, and two 3 minute speeches, I felt fulfilled as a teacher.
Not exactly sure how important this all is, but I thought it was something nice to share with anyone who reads this. I very much look forward to my second year teaching. There is so much that I will and want to change and improve on. One thing that I will keep, this assignment at the end of the year.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Welcome...
...to my blog! I figured that there are a lot of new and exciting things that have occurred to me this year and many more to come that I want to share with the world/my friends. This will be a place for me to reflect on all that has happened as a first year teacher, what I look forward to next year and also the countdown to my wedding is 6 weeks! Katy and I are both pretty excited about that. I also hope to just write about other things going on and keep it as interesting as possible. So, if you think that you might want to read about what is going on in my life, then this is the blog for you! If not, that's OK as well. Enough rambling for now! Stay tuned for my first "real" post!
Blog you soon!
Blog you soon!
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