This College Thing

Ah school...

That thing that come every August and ruins all our lives!

Especially in college.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE college! It's the best time of my life! Everything is so so fun! HOWEVER! Tuition sucks. This has been the first semester that I've had to pay tuition... I know "boo hoo Aubrey. It's your 5th year of college and you're just now worrying about this." And you're right! I'm very blessed! Although, now I know how the rest of my school feels. Thus, it suck!

I pretty much fell apart for a week because of school stuff... and other stuff... but it all stemmed from school issues... Anyway! Anthony helped me through it and all is good now.

Guess how many credits I'm taking!!!

Drum roll please.....................................

7.

Yep. Just 7! The lowest I've ever taken is 12 and now I'm just over half that.
Well, I guess this is my reward for only having to take 6 classes this year before I start my student teaching. Thus 3 classes this semester and 3 next semester. It all works out though because these classes are the hardest yet! Luckily, my teachers are awesome and they actually care about teaching us and helping us learn. Therefore, I want to do the work for them. I know it's not about the grade to them. It's about us.

That's the kind of teacher I want to be.

I think I can do this college thing.

Through and Through

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

- Dr. Seuss  

Be You through and through.

I've worked with kindergartners this past year and I noticed something about them, they have their own personality!!! I'm sure some people out there are saying "well duh!" but think about it! For the longest time I thought that we develop our personality over time, which is true. However, I feel that we are WHO we are from birth. Different aspects about ourselves change, but I think that is just the process of trying to "find yourself" when you are young. You lose track of "who you are" in pursuit of "who they want me to be."

Once again, I must ask you to think about it! How did you act when you were little? Is it very similar to how you act now? Probably... unless you are fake now. :) Well, I did think about this! I was the little ray of sunshine. I was spunky, silly, loud, emotional, smart, controlling, and violent (we have footage of me hitting my older brother when he was teasing me... or I was just being silly... when I was 6... he didn't retaliate, which infers that it happened often.). Guess how I act now? The same. I simply have more life experience to help me relate to others around me.

Your kindergartner teachers knew you before you became you. Some of your self-destructing tendencies were evident when you were 5 and your teachers were trained to see them... and possibly warn your future teachers. 

:D 

What happened between now and then? Life. We all get to go through adolescence, it's a right of passage! Hopefully you learned something about who you don't want to be. I know I did. I'd much rather be confident, loud, and loving than insecure, quiet, and fleeting.  

Don't forget the things you used to love. 

Don't forget the things you used to want to do.

Don't forget the things you used to want to be.

Chances are they probably aren't "used to" still.

I used to love dancing at random happy moments.

I used to want to go to the Museum of Natural History.

I used to want to be a teacher.

I still do the walking man whenever something awesome happens.

I went to the Museum of Natural History 14 years after missing the field trip.

I'm two years away from getting my teaching license.

I used to love watching Disney movies.

I used to want to go to the Westminster Park.

I used to want to be a model.

I get more excited about a new Disney movies than anything else.

I drove by the park today and stopped to swing on the swings.

I get to model a winning outlook every day of my life.

In the words of Peter Pan

"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"

What Teachers Make

As I am going through all the final projects, papers, and tests I am beginning to wonder "WHY?" Why am I killing myself over these classes? Why am I going to class when I could be dancing? Why am I procrastinating doing the project that is due in 3 days?

Well this is the best mode of procrastination that I have ever done.

WHAT TEACHERS MAKE
- Taylor Mali

Teaching

"Teacher's hefty salaries are driving up taxes and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they works, not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 am to 3:00 pm with 45 minutes off for lunch and plan -- that equals 6.5 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach a day... maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE... That's $585 x 180 = 105,300 per year (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).
"What about those special education teacher and the ones with Master's degree? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.25), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 x 6.5 hours x 30 children x 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here!
"There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nationwide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77 per day/30 students = $9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student -- a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids! WHAT A DEAL!!! Heaven forbid we take into account highly qualified  teachers or NCLB!"

- Stolen from my Aunt Kim who stole it from a friend. :)

If you're anything like me, you got really frustrated while reading the beginning of this quote.However, it couldn't have ended better! So why have I chosen this career that pays so very little? Because it truly makes me happy! There is nothing like a child's hug or smile to improve your day!

I work as a teacher's assistant at Upland Terrace Elementary in a developmental kindergarten classroom. I really really love it! Everyday is different. My students are in different moods and dispositions. However, they are still adorable!!! Sometimes they say "I hate you Miss Aubrey" when I won't allow them to do something. Then two minutes later I feel little arms around my waist and see two big eyes looking lovingly up at me! Even today I was helping a student put on their hat and coat and he all of the sudden gave me a hug. Not common for that one. My whole day is full of laughter and funny comments! Then there are moments... emphasis on the word "moments"... when their worlds seem to be falling apart and I get to comfort them and coach them through these new feelings their still learning to cope with.

I had a hard childhood. I was bullied, friendless, and struggling to keep up with the curriculum. My teachers kept me going. They loved me even when no one else did. So THAT is why I want to be a teacher, to help children find hope in a seemingly hopeless world.

So,

from one teacher to another,

or more importantly,

from a student to my teacher.

Thank you.