The Golden Rule

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Seriously people, do it.

It's not so fun to be on the other side. 

Fears

I'm a little bit of a daredevil. :) I'll do the highest, flippiest, and most dangerous lifts when dancing like a Candle Stick, Around the World, Falling Angel, The Chair, and my favorite: Texas Star. I'll go off any number of jumps at the sand dunes, including those built off of a slip-in-slide with a "trench" of water at the bottom (without an ATV) multiple times giggling the whole time. EVEN if I fall, I'll get up and do it again.

However, I have discovered something that scares the living daylights out of me!

Trampolines.

Irrational? I don't know, I just don't like them! I suppose the reason is that they tend to be small and the ground tends to be hard around them. If I miss, it hurts! There's also the chance I'll land on my head on the hard ground. This fear can possible be traced back to the large number of times I'll fallen when jumping on trampolines. Ohs well. :) Needless to say, I really don't like the game "Rocket."

I discovered this fear at a gymnastics gym last night. Well it was just a trick gym actually. There were no balance beams (I was kinda sad cuz I like spinning off them into the foam pits). I could jump on the super bouncy tramps and do all sorts of kicks where I stayed upright, but I couldn't bring myself to do a flip, which I KNOW I can do! Well I did one once, just once. It was lame. :S

I'd much rather:

• Climb the rock wall and jump off into the foam pit
• Get charged at with a pad and fly into the foam pit behind me
• Charge into a mountain man and just end up on the ground
• Try it again and bounce back 3 feet
• Swing off the trapease.. I think that's how you spell it.. and do flips off it.
• Cartwheels
• Run into a wall... multiple times.
• Or anything where I'm just in the air and not jumping into it!

I'm not kidding that I'm really afraid of it! My heart was pounding just at the thought of them. Don't downplay my fear. Pretty sure it's a result of me not trusting myself, but I'm more than willing to trust other people.

Especially when doing the Texas Star. :)

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.