I was really excited on Monday but began to get anxious once Tuesday hit and then Wednesday followed.
Why do teachers always focus so much on getting the room ready? Is it ever ready?
The focus needs to be on the learning at hand, not the half-bordered bulletin board, of which I am guilty.
The syllabi were printed (which is another story) but then I was trying to figure out how to get my chromebook to hook up to the projector when:
A. I had gone to a store with an HDMI to VGA adapter in mind but spent $50 on a USB VGA adapter. The adapter was purchased during lunch.
B. I realized at 8pm the night before school started that purchased adapter would not work with aforementioned chromebook due to drivers not being able to be installed on the chromebook.
C. I returned USB VGA adapter to the store and purchased a $75 50-foot HDMI cable at 9pm, went home and made a Google presentation, Google form and updated a prezi, then woke up to arrive at school at 6:30am to install aforementioned HDMI cable which is now decorating my ceiling like so...
I forgot the rush of trying to hammer out contingency plans for every possible situation.
I forgot the feeling of the "Ah ha!" moments when students understand what you teach them.
I forgot how funny high schoolers can be. (Favorite line of the day "What's 'Google'?")
I forgot having technology all set up has nothing to do with actual instruction.
Technology is a tool that can be used to teach, but it is not necessary for learning.
I forgot what it feels like to be a part of a team, to have camaraderie with the teacher across the hallway.
I forgot what being a part of a school is like.
I forgot how much I love speaking French.
I forgot how much I love being in the classroom.
I am so glad I remembered.