Can I get a "Woot?"

Hurrah! It is a new year with new adventures. For the past two days I have been a teacher once again and both days, as I have written the date on the board, I have had to erase the "8" with my fingers and rewrite a lovely little "9" in its place. The result is a blackish hand, but I have not had a student see me miswrite the year so I feel proud about that.

2nd quarter is almost over and the struggle for grades begins! Can I get a "woot?" Next week my student teacher will be in my classroom watching me teach; I am completely doubting my awesomeness as a teacher now that I think of another person seeing me in action...but she only observes for a few weeks, so I think it will be just fine. My greatest student-teacher fear is that my students will love her more than they love me. That, of course, will make me sad. My second greatest fear is that my students will not love her more than they love me and life will be difficult for her. Sigh.

I basically love my job. I love my students. I love my school. I am grateful for moments of clarity when I understand acutely how I can teach a new concept. I am glad for my brain and the insight it offers in moments of frustration. Today, I talked to my 6th hour class to let them know that they were completing their group work in a less than stellar way. I loved that the words came to me and I sounded like a teacher and I meant every word that I said. I may or may not have used the word "suck" (which I regret, even though it was offered in the context of, "if you cannot complete this simple assignment for me, 11th grade will basically suck for you because it will be impossible for you to be successful) but other than the brief lapse into teen language, I completely sounded like a teacher.

Once more, can I get a "woot?"