Furrowing eyebrows, placing my face into the depths of my palms, staring deeply at the computer that seems like it might start smoking any minute now, click-clacking joyfully at one point (in an almost rhythmic tune), then tapping the backspace button ever so slightly (more than a few times if we’re honest), dumping out the trash you can call my thoughts and realizing “oh, there was actually something valuable in there,” and then digging deep to find it again. Writing an essay, you say? Ha. I wish. No, in fact this is me for the past few weeks trying to come up with fun, engaging, modern-way-of thinking type lesson plans that, to my disappointment, never came falling out of the sky. “You’ll be happy that you did all of your work at the front of it,” they say. “It gets better with time,” they say, but does it really? I know it does. I just like being cynical every once in a while.
Actually, I’m quite proud of my accomplishments thus far. I’ve got a semi-cohesive unit plan in place, and to top it all off I can proudly say that it’s all my work, my thoughts, my effort. If you told me a year ago that I would be finding the perfect text for designing a meaningful student-centered unit that included truly unique lesson plans, you would be running away trying to get away from the crazy, hysterical lady. But now that I’m nearing the end of getting every little detail of my unit plan all typed up, I think about where I was a year ago and ask myself, “What was I so worried about?” I’ve got this! It may not be perfect, and I know there has got to be something I missed, but I think I can do it. I think I can do this whole being a teacher thing. I know there will be many challenges to come in the future, but I’ve got to remember that I have the chance to do something I love every day. Even if I do screw up, I know that I will get a second chance because my students love me and they know I love them and knowing that makes everything okay.
Teaching as Storytelling 