Paid to do what I LOVE!!!

I truly feel blessed that I found a career that I absoutely LOVE!!!  I know that not many people can say that they truly enjoy or even really like what they do, so knowing that I wouldn't change what I do for anything is a unique feeling.  I know a lot of people who think teaching is easy or simple and that we get like 1000 random days off and don't have to work during the summer...but really...they couldn't be more WRONG!  Sure we get fun days off like Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, MLK Jr. Day, etc. off and we have 2 weeks at Christmas, a week in the Spring and 8 weeks in the summer but we (well the majority of us!) honestly work so hard when we are at work that those days are well deserved!  Think about the day in the life of a teacher for a second:

• Wake up...between 4-6am depending on the school/where you live in relation to the school
• Get to school (before it starts!!!) 7am
• Make sure you have everything you need (if you don't there's probably a 10-15 minute wait already for the copy machine because OTHER people didn't have what they needed either!)
• Start class (we start at 7:30...this doesn't mean get your coffee, check the news headlines, read the paper, chat with co-workers, check e-mail, etc.  This means we are up in front of 25-32 sleepy-eyed high school students...trying to get them involved in what we are doing!!!)  We go to extreme measures to get students involved at times!  :)
• Continue with classes on and off for the next 8 hours!  On a daily basis we have contact with over 120 students!  Each decision we make, everything we say, affects how the students will think/feel/respond/etc. 
• School ends at 2:45...then it's on to planning/grading/coaching/sponsoring/etc. well into the night for some of us!  (On Wednesday I got to school around 6:45am and left for the night around 8:30pm....long hours but I wouldn't change it...it was a great/productive/fun day!)
• THEN...some teachers have to go home to full time job #2...being a parent.  Although I'm not there yet, I plan to be some day...so that includes
• a little play time
• dinner
• walk in the park (okay I guess not EVERY night...but the nice ones for sure!)
• bath
• start bed time
• clean up from dinner
• couple time 
• And then we get to do it all over again the next day!

Teaching isn't a job that you can actually leave at the office!  It definitely comes home with you.  I am constantly thinking about my students and what some of them are going through while I'm at home.  We bring home grading, projects, curriculum ideas, etc. and spend some of our "home" or "family" time consumed with work stuff.  But we do it because we love it...not because we have to do it! 


Now let's talk about summer...it is NOT just a vacation.  (Hahaha...if you've been following my blog since it started you'd probably beg to differ...but really it's not!)  We do so much FOR SCHOOL during the summer it's not even funny.  We plan our curriculum, meet with teachers throughout the district for each course, rearrange plans, etc.


BUT I LOVE WHAT I DO!!!!!!  And who I do it with!  So, my FCS Family at FHS...I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!  (And those that don't teach at FHS but teach regardless!!!)