First Day Blow Away

Well so my first day just ended. It was all pretty surreal. After all the worry, the stress, the excitement and the anxiety... it was really just like slipping on an old shoe. I was so extremely comfortable that it was almost a little scary. I think that's probably a credit to the UTeach program up at Texas. By the time we hit the classroom for real, we've been there... alot. So maybe feeling unprepared was silly in the end. After all, we've been getting ready for today for the last 3 years. It's nice to see hard work pay off.

My kids are great. Which was the opposite of how other teachers said they would be. They would all say things about how rowdy they were going to be or how tough they'd be in the afternoon. Truthfully I didn't really notice it. I'm a firm believer in the 'perception is reality' mantra. If you think kids are crazy... then they are. If you think you're a bad teacher or that you can't do math or that you don't have a good memory then chances are those things are true about you.

All in all things went great. In the classes that I was able to get things done quickly for, we got to talk about a metaphor I came up with while watching a video on Youtube. In the 'Rabbit and Snake' metaphor I showed them a picture of a gross snake and a furry little rabbit. We talked about how if you put a rabbit in a cage with a big snake, the rabbit would surely meet his end. The students also talked about how even in the wild a rabbit's only true recourse is to simply run and hide.
Then I explained to them that as students they are all rabbits. They are in a cage that they are legally bound to go to everyday and there is no escape. As if that weren't bad enough, they've got snakes in the cage. Teachers, classes, tests, projects, busy schedules, and relationships can all be snakes in their school 'cage'. Now they have two options. They can either let those snakes eat them alive or become fierce bunnies who aren't afraid of anything and will attack it until it isn't there to attack anymore.

Then we watched this video.

You'll notice that in the video the rabbit tries unsuccessfully a number of times to attack the snake head on. Sometimes the best approach is not always the first one you come up with. So eventually the rabbit figures out, I should bite the tail and the rest is history. Fight until the fight is done.

There's a whole bunch of lessons to be learned from that little bunny. I had fun teaching it. I had fun with the kids. It was so refreshing to finally be there in the classroom, just me and them. I have to admit though I had Baby Spur on my mind alot today. I'm really looking forward to that kid being born, but I'm also excited about it becoming a teenager. Contrary to popular belief... they really aren't that bad. I love em and I love being around them.

I suppose as a parting shot I'll leave you like I left the kids today. Be fierce rabbits... you never know when a snake's gonna get hungry.