An End to Two Long Weeks... Thank Goodness!

To sum up the past two weeks in two words, I would say “stressful” and “hectic.” I was unable to write last week due the craziness of my schedule. After school each day, I had some event to attend or an activity planned. When I finally made it home, filling out applications took over my night. When Friday rolled around, I judged the Big District tournament for Speech and Debate. The competition began at four o’clock, and the students did not leave that night until eleven. Saturday morning’s alarm came incredibly early. Everyone reported to Copley High School at 7:30 am. The students competed all day, and some accepted the big award: National Qualifier. Both Perry and Jackson did a phenomenal job at the tournament. Congratulations.

Late Sunday night I received a phone call from another English teacher in the building. She explained to me that Mrs. Mann, my cooperating teacher, would be out of school all week. She shared with me Leslie’s situation and relayed the message that she wanted me to take over all her classes. When I heard this, my heart dropped. What was I going to do without her? She is seriously my lifeline at school. My biggest concern was taking over her accelerated sophomore class. I never taught that class before, and did not have any materials to help them prepare for the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). When tears began to form in my eyes, I knew I needed advice. A few years ago I would never have said this, but I ran to my parents. I knew they would know what to do. They explained to me that this might by helpful for me. Next year I’m going to be teaching all day by myself; this will give me an idea of what the future will hold. Their words definitely sunk in, but what was I going to teach? I over-prepare for the classes I teach now. Talking in front of a class without knowing what I was doing is one of my biggest nightmares.

I woke up early Monday morning and drove to school. As I walked into class my body shook, hands began to sweat, and heart pounded so hard I think it broke out of my body. I was more nervous Monday than the first day of teaching. I didn’t have my biggest supporter, and that scared me. The other English teachers came to my rescue. They gave me materials and checked in to see if I needed any help. This calmed me down immensely. If you’ve read my blog prior to this entry, you know I tend to get extremely nervous, but I end the blog with everything turned out fine. When am I going to realize this? Everything this week did turn out to be OK. Now that doesn’t mean it went smoothly or it wasn’t stressful, it means I made it through the week. All I can say is I am so happy Leslie will be back on Monday.