LMAO ...and I Feel ya, Pete

First of all, let me say that I just laughed by butt off… I’m glad I watched that (not so thrilled to blog about it when I could be sleeping…ha… no big deal—I spent all of college learning to procrastinate in time to do so with my blogs.  My fault for waiting till now.)  Anyway, Pete Nelson, you’re hilarious!

 

I know where Pete is coming from—I thought I’d accomplished a few things in college…then I met the rest of the MTC class.  “I got nothin’.” My MTC class is incredible—as are all the classes that have come before us, for what I can tell…

 

What really hit home with me was the idea that teaching has to be about more than just immediate results.  I am such a results-driven person…I like to see the fruit of my labors as soon as I’m done.  I mean, I love research papers.  Go ahead, laugh.  You search, you find, you write, you have something to show for it; and , if you work hard, have something to be proud of.  “Hard work equals success,” to quote Pete.

 

…But not so much with teaching.  You can never tell when what you do will “blow up in your face.”  I have worked my fingers to the bone for days that I have wanted to run away from screaming.  And then, I’ve come in and felt like that day was a wash before it began—I wasn’t ready, I was tired, etc—only to see kids working, learning and progressing.  I can honestly say this has to be the least boring job on earth.  There are no two days alike and no day goes by without a notable event—someone, someone will surprise you. 

 

Nevertheless, some days diarrhea does sound better than teaching…except that I don’t have any sick days left… sucks.  I have never been sick in my life until I started teaching…what gives??? (Well, I’ve rarely been stressed either and they are all stress-related diseases… ha. I’m dealing… and I have decided to learn to like the pressure.  Its going to be a long—but good (because I have decided!)—year.

 

 

Comments

[Conor McDowell]

There is really nothing to say that you haven't said.  Our class is incredible (although I've been with what seems like 75% of them through college) and teaching is frustrating.  I feel like I have had maybe 1 successful day to every 8 unsuccessful ones, yet occasionally, you can see that students know what is going on and thats incredible, yet I have no idea how I'm doing or even what to expect, geez.

[StacyFilocco]

The fact that the amount of work you put in on a given day has no correlation to the success (or lack thereof) of your lesson is truly one of the wildest aspects of teaching.  I know of no other job that is so entirely dependent on other individuals to determine success or lack of success.  Really, how you feel at the end of the day usually has more to do with how the 100 or more other people you interacted with that day felt.  As you said, this can cause surprise on both ends of the spectrum- excitement when students are successful and learning (particularly when it is unexpected) and frustration when your day does not go as well as intended.  I admire your attitude that you have decided to have good year!

[Annah Kuriakose]

Yep, MTC has some good ones. When people mention that, I keep thinking of how Ben always says the strength of the program is in the participants. If it weren't for some of the people in the program, I don't know how I'd make myself get up every morning.

The other thing your post made me think of was how we each probably thought we were successful and could do anything in college. It always surprises me when I think of how proud I was when I graduated and how humbled I am now that I've been here doing something that I'm not great at yet and haven't seen rewards for yet.