Day 19

My student-teacher has been out sick almost all week, so maybe I'm paying for all that gloating I did in an earlier slice. Still, I found that while it's nice to share responsibility with another adult in the room, I found it to be quite invigorating to have my students all to myself. That's really one of the best parts of being a teacher. I'm not stuffed in a cubicle, listening to the drone of my co-workers' telephone calls or the clicking of their keyboards, and it's better than a corner office--I've heard it's lonely up there at the top. Me? I've got an entire room that seats 28, a couple computers, whiteboards, loads of books, two (that's right, two) trashcans, and even windows--but not only that, I get to greet about 125 interesting people five days a week who come into my class and listen to me and my ideas. Plus, I get to listen to them and their ideas, and at eleven or twelve years old, that makes for some very entertaining listening. Whoever says teachers are in it for summers off can come talk to me.

Now it's Friday and unless my young apprentice has jumped ship (which is highly unlikely, since she appeared to be having a grand time until she turned green), I'll pass the baton, once again, back to her. I can share my posh space with her and we can compare notes again about how best to reach our writers. But at least I know for sure that when she heads out into wider world of education in May, I'll take my class back with an eager heart.