It first happened about 7 years ago now. I was wandering the aisles of a certain
big-box superstore in search of Halloween-themed window clings. It was the fall of my first year teaching 3rd
grade and I was only 23 years old. At
that point in my life I was your typical 23 year old male, and I don’t think I
have to explain what that means - use your imaginations and be creative. However, as I turned right down an aisle of
kid-friendly fall decorations, the question came screaming into my head: “What have I gotten myself into?”
I am now 30 years old and beginning my eighth year teaching
3rd grade. The same question
still pops up every now and then – usually when I walk into a fabric or craft
store looking for supplies for the next learning activity or crazy idea my
teacher friends and I have created; or when something off the wall happens in
my classroom (which is often). If you
would have told me 10 years ago that I would be okay with 25 to 30 short people
hugging me daily, or that I would wear dresses/wigs/tutus for school talent
shows, or that I would even have a clue what the inside of a fabric store looks
like - I would have laughed you to scorn.
If you would have told me that I would enjoy, even love, nearly every
minute of it and this crazy career called education would become my passion – I
would have had you committed! Here I am,
though, 7 years into a life I never expected; a life I am thrilled I found.
This blog is my attempt to share my passion for teaching and
learning with you and to try and give what I think is a unique perspective
on the elementary school life. I am proud to be
a male (or “boy” as my students call me) teacher in an elementary school. In my opinion, we need more men in the
classroom earlier, but there will be more time for my thoughts on this in
future posts. My goal for this blog is
to be about the life of a teacher – encompassing many areas: technology, classroom management, curriculum,
instruction, and of course the stories that make me laugh or that inspire me to
keep going. It may be a bit random, but
it is all one big open-ended answer to the question posed in the title of the
blog. What have I gotten myself
into? An amazing, challenging, and
rewarding career that I enjoy every day.
This post was (most likely obviously) my first attempt at
blogging. I tried to keep it short and
sweet while still introducing this blog.
I greatly appreciate any feedback, tips, or suggestions for post topics. Check back for my ideas and stories soon –
thank you for spending part of your day with me!
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