Ms. Ross

This week back home could be described as tiring, trying, and eye opening. It was my first week as a substitute teacher and it went pretty well! I taught science to 6th-8th graders... the grades I always said I would never want to teach. Heck, I've always said that during those ages, I hope to send my own kids off to my brothers until they're out of that awkward stage. But I survived, they were surprisingly better than I expected, and I enjoyed a lot about teaching this older group. I do think I'll stick with the little ones, though.

Blessing number 1: getting to work with some of the sweetest women that actually used to be my teachers. It was an interesting and cool experience having lunch with my former teachers as coworkers now. It made me feel like such an adult! (And them "so old!") It really was a great working environment though being surrounded by such kind, helpful people.

Blessing 2: waking up for coffee with Mom before school. So, maybe a couple of those days I may have fallen asleep during this time together, but it was still nice waking up for time with Mama.

Blessing 3: hearing such encouraging, kind words from my students and coworkers. Several students kept asking if I could just be their permanent teacher, thought I was really good (even though I didn't know some paralyzed scientist that I should definitely know as a science teacher), and left "Ms. Ross is awesome" notes on the board they weren't supposed to write on... how can I get onto them for that though?!

Blessing 4: the laughs and cuteness of the 6th grade girls' giddiness over the 8th grade boys. Those sly boys spent their lunchtime one day, sitting with their starry-eyed admirers, knowing exactly what they were doing. That provided some entertainment and smiles... especially among those girls!

Blessing 5: lastly, the amazing sunrises I got to see on the way to school everyday. They were phenomenal, really. This big open field I passed was always an awesome sight. Sadly, my pictures don't do it justice. I need to dedicate a morning just to the sunrise and get some good pictures of it.

After this week, I'm still not sure if teaching is something I would want to do long term, but it's definitely an option. I at least got confidence that I can do it, and more reassurance that I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy it.