I am honestly tired of answering this question. And really don’t ask me why people quit. I don’t know the answer to any of it. I think it all depends on yourself. However, I have created a quick list of 50 questions. No this is not a joke. These are all obstacles I have over come/still deal with. I would urge people considering this program to read through this list and either answer no or yes to each question. At the end, count the number of No’s and Yes’ and you will have your answer to the question, “Should I join MTC or not?”
1. Do you like being cursed out?
2. Do you like being underappreciated?
3. Do you like having to spend the little money you earn on supplies because the school wont give you any?
4. Do you like only having the chance to pee before 8am and after 4pm?
5. Do you like getting gum stuck on your butt because students put it on your stool and wait for you to sit on it?
6. Do you like having to teach to the test?
7. Do you like having to teach to the test with kids who cant read?
8. Do you like having +30 students in your classroom?
9. Do you like working in conditions where the AC comes on in the winter and the heat in the summer?
10. Do you like having to write blogs?
11. Do you like having to drive up to 3 hours to get to and from Oxford about 7 times a semester?
12. Do you like having to sit in (sometimes) really pointless lectures?
13. Do you like never having free time?
14. Do you like never having anything to do?
15. Do you like corn?
16. Do you like cotton?
17. Do you like tornado sirens?
18. Do you sweet tea?
19. Do you like fried chicken?
20. Do you like fried catfish?
21. How about fried dog? (JUST KIDDING. But seriously, everything is fried here!)
22. Do you like corn mazes?
23. Do you like the most amazing sunsets and sunrises you will ever see?
24. Do you like Walmart?
25. Do you like flat land?
26. Do you like heat?
27. Do you like cheap rent?
28. Do you think that helping 1 student out of 250 that you have taught over the course of two years is worth it?
28. Do you like killing trees?
29. Do you think you can handle teaching girls that are 15 with 2 kids?
30. Do you think you can wake up every morning knowing that both the students and the school will shit on you today, and yet still go to work?
31. Can you speak well in front of people?
32. Are you a people person?
33. Do you know when to bite your tongue?
34. Can you follow instructions no matter how dumb they are?
35. Can you be in a situation that no family member or friend will ever understand?
36. Can you go for long periods without eating?
37. Are you organized?
38. Would you call yourself mentally stable?
39. Can you find joy in the darkest times?
40. Do you care about children?
41. Do you like education?
42. Does it matter to you whether or not you see any change in your two years in MTC or do you understand that it may not happen right now?
43. Is it okay that you may gain 20lbs during your time in the program?
44. Is it okay that you start running (because that’s the only thing to do) to lose the 20lbs?
45. Do you mind driving 2.5 hours to for the closest target, starbucks, airport, mall, bookstore, etc?
46. Do you like Macs?
47. Do you like blues music?
48. Does building a campfire to make smores sound fun?
49. Are you okay with the idea that at times you may consider this job a waste of two years of your life?
50. Would you consider yourself selfless?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
My experience thus far…
This year has been harder yet more rewarding than last year. I am mentally struggling a lot more. My content knowledge is solid. I know how to get my students to pass the state test. BUT I am just struggling so hard with dealing with everything mentally.
This is really hard to explain. I suppose at the end of the day I feel like I have more things working against me than with me. Every time I come up with a new idea for in the classroom, something goes wrong. The administration puts obstacles in front of you even when you are trying to work for the students. Working as a teacher I feel like I am bipolar. One day all my classes will come in and shutup, the next day it will be pure chaos. And don’t even tell me that most problems stem from the teacher! When it comes down to it, there are days where the kids are just unruly. Even the good students act out sometimes. So to sum it up, I am over this experience and can’t wait for May 26th.
But this year I have also grown closer to students than I did last year. I am not sure whether its because this is a smaller community or because I have 2 classes with less than 10 students. Either way, it has been really nice to get to know my students outside of their academics. Its not always happy things that I hear about. I’ve had a student talk to me about a house fire that destroyed everything. I had a student talk to me about the loss of his mother and how he was the only one with her at the time. I have had a young mother talk to me about options for her after high school and how to deal with her children’s father. Maybe I am not making big changes but at least I am someone to talk to. Someone who cares. I am a young black female that is saying things differently than they’ve ever heard. I don’t run around using the N word or cursing. I am a teacher and I don’t have 3 or 4 kids hanging off of me. You never know when something you say or do will affect one of the students differently.
This last realization has me thinking about possibly becoming a counselor. Perhaps that is what I will do next in life…
This is really hard to explain. I suppose at the end of the day I feel like I have more things working against me than with me. Every time I come up with a new idea for in the classroom, something goes wrong. The administration puts obstacles in front of you even when you are trying to work for the students. Working as a teacher I feel like I am bipolar. One day all my classes will come in and shutup, the next day it will be pure chaos. And don’t even tell me that most problems stem from the teacher! When it comes down to it, there are days where the kids are just unruly. Even the good students act out sometimes. So to sum it up, I am over this experience and can’t wait for May 26th.
But this year I have also grown closer to students than I did last year. I am not sure whether its because this is a smaller community or because I have 2 classes with less than 10 students. Either way, it has been really nice to get to know my students outside of their academics. Its not always happy things that I hear about. I’ve had a student talk to me about a house fire that destroyed everything. I had a student talk to me about the loss of his mother and how he was the only one with her at the time. I have had a young mother talk to me about options for her after high school and how to deal with her children’s father. Maybe I am not making big changes but at least I am someone to talk to. Someone who cares. I am a young black female that is saying things differently than they’ve ever heard. I don’t run around using the N word or cursing. I am a teacher and I don’t have 3 or 4 kids hanging off of me. You never know when something you say or do will affect one of the students differently.
This last realization has me thinking about possibly becoming a counselor. Perhaps that is what I will do next in life…
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