Nine to Five: Or Whatever a Teacher Works

As I am getting ready to go to my 9 - 5 (more like 7 - 1 during the summer) I thought I would take a quick minute and link up with the lovely Helene and Sarah for #9to5totalsocial.

If you are a regular reader here you know that my full-time job is to teach.  Specifically I teach hormonal seniors in high school about Literature and Psychology.  There is a lovely tab to the right full of my teaching stories if you are interested in what happens from day to day.

[caption id="attachment_940" align="aligncenter" width="702"] My Psychology class this year. They thought taking a photo where they are sleeping was hilarious.[/caption]

I am currently teaching Summer School, because I am a sucker love making children read The Crucible and write research papers in one week's time and then do it all over again the next week.

Most days I love my job.  My students can be bright, insightful, and compassionate.

I love teaching them about the world around them and watching them become uncomfortable with injustice and seek ways to make the world around them better.

I love when we read the ending of Of Mice and Men together and half the class screams when George pulls the trigger and the other class throws their book down.

I love that I make them line up along the wall of our class and chuck their books at the wall when they are angered or upset at the injustice they just read about.

I love that I can create a space where teenagers feel safe to be a little nerdy and can love reading.

I also love when they fall short of the list above.

I love when I get a paper about Bill Gatsby the founder of Microsoft who was trying to win the love of a woman named Daisy.

I love when I get a Wikapedia article in paper format with my students name on it (I have a few students who are apparently contributors to Wikapedia).

I love when I tell them a paper is due at midnight and half the class thinks midnight is noon.

I love when they tell me that they hate summer school and reading.

I love when I ask what computer games they play and they say "computer games".

I love every single time they walk in my class and say, "are we doing anything today?"

Things I do not love include watching them graduate and mountains of paperwork that seems to get bigger every year.

Oh and I have some rather awesome co-workers that have even better stories of children being brilliant and utterly befuddling.

[caption id="attachment_1753" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Yes from time to time I look like this at my job that I get paid for.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1701" align="aligncenter" width="600"] I also get to go to the movies for free from time to time.[/caption]

Alright I am off to read the ending of The Crucible with the summer crew.  Pray I don't cry when Proctor refuses to sign his name and ultimately finds his redemption. What do you do for your work and what do you love about it?