This was by far the hardest semester I have ever had, not because of the sheer workload, but because of the fact that I kind of burnt out in the 2-3 weeks before it was all over. It was all part of my elaborate plan to keep three jobs, and work 11-hour shifts every weekday (Monday-Friday). With that ordeal over though, I am very satisfied with the amount of money I saved and the amount of people I was able to affect in doing so.
Working such long shifts gave me less free time to sadly socialize and exercise, two things I will need to work on in the upcoming year. I still hung out with people when I got the chance, but most nights after working 11 hours I kind of just lesson planned, watched some Netflix, and fell asleep shortly. Student teaching has been relatively fun, with some good days mostly outweighing the bad ones. Sure, kids will misbehave every now and then, but it’s pretty reasonable given the 8-hours of schooling they have every day. If I am to keep their attention spans I will need to make my lesson plans both engaging and exciting (and yet relatable to high school teenagers.). I’m excited to take over, and I know it will be one of the most positive and rewarding experiences in my life.
Speaking of positive experiences, with the two jobs off my plate I will surely miss them, mostly the Anaheim Family YMCA. I’m surely to come back to Fairmont in the summer for their annual summer camp so it’s not a permanent loss, but the experiences and connections I’ve made at Katella high school over the one year I’ve been there has been both positive and rewarding. Just getting to know the kids and being able to relate to them in a positive way is an inspiration I hope to carry onto my teaching. Too often students feel that their teachers “don’t care”. Not only have I observed that in the various credit recovery classes I’ve helped out in, but I have witnessed it firsthand in my K-12 educational experience. I hope to try to get to know ALL of my students as best as I can. Just before winter break I went ahead and made 110 of them holiday bags with personalized messages to all of them. Hopefully it tells them that I care and that they will be good to me when I eventually take over the classroom in February.
And yet, in the end, the staff will surely be missed just as much as the students. Thank you Caitlyn Fry and the Anaheim Family YMCA for one and a half years of excellence and personal growth and development.
