Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Day 68 - One of Those Days


One of Those Days

Did you ever have one of those days?  Wait, I don’t mean one of those days when everything seems to go wrong.  Let’s be a little more positive.  If you are like me, when I have one of those days, it is usually just a small event that I take advantage of emotionally all day long.



I am meaning something different now.  Wednesday night, August 31, I was writing lesson plans for the upcoming week, and it hit me.  I saw how to do things.  Starting a new subject and planning what to do, day by day, takes time.  You teachers out there know what I’m talking about.  Well, it hit me that day what I needed to do and how to do it.  For the next two hours I wrote plans I felt good about.  I still have a lot of little things to do, but for the first time, I made some sense out of what I am doing.  I think someone must have been praying for me.


The next day, Thursday, September 1, saw a continuation of things working.  It was one of those days that everything went so smoothly that it seemed the school day was over in a few minutes.


First period is British Literature.  We have just started reading Beowulf.  A fellow teacher at the school said that she had a bonfire in the class to get their attention and I copied her suggestion.  Not an actual bonfire; I’d get fired for that.  Instead we had some sticks the students gathered and brought to class.  I asked them to bring one stick, but they brought like 50 each!  We sat around the fire and discussed life in Anglo-Saxon England.  Afterwards, they wrote a story, with themselves as the main character, and what their lives were like if they lived at this time.  One girl was a rich girl, but she still worked around the house.  Another girl was poor struggling to make things work.  And a boy was the youngest son making a living without his parents any more.  I have a few bards in my class.


Second period is Composition and Speech, 10th grade.  These guys have a reputation, but I am ignoring it and starting fresh.  I absolutely love these guys.  They love to talk, but a little firmness and they do whatever you ask.  Today they were reading Fahrenheit 451 and finishing a few things from earlier in the week.  My class was so quiet!  One boy, close to the end of class, said, “Mr. Potter, I don’t get this novel.”  So I asked some questions to help him see he does understand it, just some things have not been revealed yet.  He looked frustrated, so before they left class, we talked for a few minutes.  He is concerned that he won’t do well this year.  I think he is going to be one of my top students.


My third class is 9th grade, World Literature and now they are studying ancient literature.  These guys are incredible.  Wednesday they read some stories from the Bible and interpreted them for me.  They knew today they would be sharing one story before the class.  So quickly they are broken up in their groups and they are loud!  But I could hear every conversation.  They were right on track.  Most planned to do a skit, portraying the story.  The pictures I have used on today’s blog are these kids planning and executing their assignment.  I laughed so much. 



My moral is not to look at the sad or difficult things in your life so much.  Take a few moments and enjoy the beauty God has given you.  If you have a fantastic idea, give some credit to God.  He does care for us.  He does want us to have “one of those days.”

God bless you




No comments:

Post a Comment

July 8, 2017 - Monte Blanco

Monte Blanco  Imagine sitting on a hill, under the blue skies with green farmlands stretched before you, surrounded by the hills of the ...