I Am Still Here

As a new educator I find myself facing new experiences - new challenges - every day. My greatest success is that I'm still here - I'd thought I'd make a good teacher ever since high school. People always have told me I explain math in a way they can understand it, so I thought that was all I'd need - a good personality and mathematical ability. I was wrong. Education courses I took prepared me only slightly for the reality of being in the classroom with 25 eleven-year-olds at a time each of them carrying their own personalities and emotional baggage. I am only beginning to understand how to work with all of those personalities and how to have them work effectively with each other. Every day is a new adventure for me in the classroom, and I love every minute of it. To paraphrase an old country music movie - "Look out teacher city - 'cause I'm here now and I ain’t ever leaving!" I've found my niche and I look forward to continuing this adventure for many years to come.

Brian McMorris, James S. Rickards Middle School