Floating

I've got a lot of posts floating around in my head.

I'd like to write sort of a tribute to the people in my life and the influence they've had on me, both positive and negative.

I'd like to write an update about my life. My son turned a year old this past week. It's crazy to think that he's only been in my life a year. I cannot imagine life without him. He is amazing. I can't wait to think how much more he's going to change in this next year.

I'd also like to write one about my current frustrations in teaching. We are approaching exams and although I have some wonderful students who care about learning, I feel like this semester I have many more who don't. It's frustrating that I prepare lessons and teach and answer questions and some rarely pay attention or take notes. And then we come to where we are now: a few days before finals. Kids start becoming concerned about whether they will pass the class. They learn they have somewhere between a 68-72 and inevitably tell me something like this: "If I do really well on the final, will I pass the class?" And depending on the day or my mood, my response is varied. But the reality is, that although the test is multiple choice, chances are they won't even make a 50. And do you know what's even worse? Many of these kids are very smart, yet they choose to waste their brain power and not pay attention. But they start caring at the very end, when it's (practically) too late. They also blame me. I recognize that they are 15 and (obviously) immature, but that doesn't mean their words don't hurt.

So, apparently, I wrote a blog about my current frustrations in teaching.