I don’t think anything has made me more nervous than anticipating my first day as a teacher — except may be standing in the door of a C-130 aircraft preparing to jump!
I wanted to be able to crush it during the first days of school, so as to have the credibility with my fellow teachers.
To make things worse, I had no one literary that I felt comfortable with whom I could turn to for advice. Then by chance something amazing happened.
Then I ran in to a classmate of mine who had been in my methods classes in college. He recommended a book that I should read and that he felt it would alleviate some of my concerns.
My plan was to go and get the book, and read it cover to cover. I wanted to really dig in the section about classroom management and what to do as soon as my students arrived. But there still was a problem.
Time was of the essence. Trying to absorb all the material that I was reading, as well as preparing my classroom, and buying supplies that I would need left me felling quite overwhelmed.
After it was all said and done, I put in place those strategies that the book had recommended. I got my classroom organized, and got all of the supplies and decorations that I needed to get things up and running. I now felt ready.
Although, all of my nervousness did not fully disappear, I felt so much better about how things might go. I felt confident that I would have a successful first day of school.
I had taken the Texas Driving School two-week course when I was sixteen years old. The first week was devoted entirely to classroom instruction-learning the rules of the road and watching Ohio State highway films; whereas, the second week was actually getting behind the wheel and driving. When I completed the course I felt so much more confident in my driving ability — even on the crazy streets of Dallas.
My hope was to buy a car of my own so that I could drive to school, instead of taking the school bus. I didn’t want to ask my buddies, some of which had cars if I could hitch a ride with them every time.
The thing was I didn’t have the money to buy a decent used car at the time. So I knew that I’d have to pick up more hours at where I worked to be able to afford something that wouldn’t break down and leave me on the side of the road.
I felt bad because a few of my friends had cars and I didn’t. I so desperately wanted to have my own set of wheels. Like I said, I hated to ask people for anything to be truthful about it.
The problem was that I had to get a reliable car that I could reasonably pay for. My folks made it clear that I would be responsible for paying not only for a car, but the insurance and gas as well. So, if it was meant to be, then it was up to me.Then, as if by chance, something amazing happened.
That’s when a friend of mine said that Shoney’s Big Boy restaurant was hiring wait staff not too far from where I lived. I never had been a waiter before, but the thought of making tips sounded appealing to me. So that’s when I decided to go down and put in an application.
So my plan was to inquire as to the position, and to check back every couple of days or so to ensure that they’d be able to put a face with a name. I really looked forward to getting that job. But there still was a problem.
Every time that I would go and inquire about the job I’d always get the same song and dance. Did you put in an application they’d say? Or well, we’ll be in touch with you soon. I thought it was kind of strange since I knew that these folks were hiring. I ended up getting so frustrated that I just didn’t know what to do. It seemed that getting a car was some far off dream.
Then one day after school, my mom told me that the manager of the restaurant where I had applied, called and said if I could stop by that afternoon for an interview. I thought to myself wow, and headed straight away to the restaurant. Well, I passed the interview got the job, and I was so excited. I began to sock away as much money out of each check plus my tips that I made. I must’ve worked and saved up my money for about four months, before I had the cash to get the car I had my eye on — a Chevy Super-sport 327!
What all of this meant was that I finally ended up buying my dream car. What a valuable lesson in life to know that if you work hard enough and persevere you can grab hold of your dreams. I felt so good about myself to know that I busted my butt to accomplish my goal.
When they’re babies? At 2
years old, 3, 4, or 5 years old, or wait until they’re in school?
According to the National
Assessment of Educational Progress, if you delay your child’s reading skill
development until he or she enters school, you are putting your child at risk.
Did you know that 67% of
all Grade 4 students cannot read at a proficient level!
Of that 67%, 33% read at
just the BASIC level, and 34% cannot even achieve reading abilities of the
lowest basic level!
I would like to hear your
comments and points of view.
