Teaching ...1,270 students

Okay, so I'm doing a blog entry on a very BROAD category, and that is TEACHING!!! :) This is officially my FIFTH year of teaching. But, that is very general. Let me be more specific. This is my SECOND year of teaching in a REGULAR Public School, and my FOURTH year of teaching ART to Elementary Kids! :) The year previous to the four years of teaching Art, I was an Assistant Teacher at a Montessori in Rice Village.

Anyways, amongst these years of teaching, I have managed to find opportunities to teach in OTHER countries- TWICE!! I got to teach VBS at a school in Silk Grass, Belize in the summer of 2008. Then, for the summer of 2010, I got to teach English as a Second Langauge (ESL) in Pinghu, China!!! I am officially a teacher both nationally, and INTERNATIONALLY!! :)

I wish I had kept track of the exact number of kids I have taught, just because it is really starting to build up. At the Montessori I taught 30 Pre-K through Kinder kids, at Harmony I taught 600 the first year, and 650 the next year. Since a lot of those were the same kids the next year, I'll just say there might've been 100 new ones.... So far, the count is 750. You add in the HISD school, and that was around 200 last year and about 100 new ones this year. Add in 120 Chinese kids from Pinghu Middle School, and 100 kids from Silk Grass..the GRAND TOTAL: 1,270 (or something around that..I'm bad at math)

And I'm not even counting Summer Camps! ;) If I added in the Catholic Summer camps (there were 2- hundreds of kids at each!) and the Gifted School I worked at one summer (maybe 30- it was tiny)..I'd get close to 1,500!! :)

I guess if you teach Elementary Art long enough, you'll get WELL into the THOUSANDS pretty fast! :)

What have I learned through teaching around 1,500 kids? Well, first of all- they have been a wide age range- from 3 years old, all the way up to 15 years old. They have been very International (since I'm from a place like Houston). They have been in Private, Charter AND Public schools. They have been from varying socio-economic backgrounds- all the way from SUPER rich Rice Village kids whose parents are lawyers, doctors and professors at Rice, to the poorest of poor in Belize and even in China.

It has been an amazing, whirlwind trip. I have enjoyed it all. I have definitely had my times where it was what you call a "love-hate" relationship..and I have been ALONE for THREE out of the past FOUR years (this is currently year #5). And when I say ALONE- I mean the SOLE Adult body in the classroom, responsible for anywhere between 10-40 kids AND- THE LONE ART TEACHER (most Elementary schools only have ONE Art Teacher)! I have come up with HUNDREDS of Art Lessons, and have cleaned up SO much junk off my floors, my tables, my counters, my WALLS, and even from the blinds and behind furniture. Oh, and I've also wiped noses, cleaned up throw up, and a myriad of other things... (broke up a few fights..)

Let me tell you, I've really been through it.

But, what I think I've come to realize after ALL OF THIS. I'm a pretty darn good teacher. ;) And, someday..I'm going to be a REALLY GOOD MOM! :)

I thank God for all these experiences, that have definitely broadened my horizons. And I hope He continues to mold me into a good teacher. It's a non-stop learning process. You can only get better and better each year. :) You NEVER reach a peak in teaching. The teachers in their 50s are still learning, even though they're about to retire. That's one thing that's interesting about it- is it NEVER gets dull or boring. There is always a new challenge.

So, if you want a job that's NEVER boring. Become a teacher. But, don't blame me when you're EXTREMELY exhausted and worn out- and NONE of your family or friends understands how you could be SO tired. :) A lot of them sit behind desks day after day, staring at a computer, crunching numbers- or doing something that is STILL VERY CHALLENGING- but, they don't know EXACTLY what it means to be a teacher, until they have stepped into a classroom and tried to be that teacher. :)

Alright. Going to step off my teacher soap box. ;)
Later~ Give hugs to all the teachers you know..and tell them "thanks" for all they do for the kids in your community!! :)