Hello Midterm Evaluation - thank you for not looming over my head too oppressively. I had the chance to visit with my mentor teacher and my supervisor about my progress during this internship - both of which were pleasant meetings! And let's face it - though I am a perfectionist - I want to know how I'm doing! I want to know where I can improve! I want to know how I can improve! I'm a teacher (and therefore an eternal student focused on learning). So bring on those opportunities for improvement!
But I thought it would be refreshing to do a personal evaluation - not just about teaching, but about the balance of my life right now.
So....
Cali's Life Evaluation:
1. Balance: 2/5 (A lot of what I do is, obviously, centered around teaching, but sometimes I forget that I am a real person, not just an intern teacher. I go home and talk about teaching. I call my parents/siblings and talk about teaching. I go to bed at night, after prayers about teaching, and dream about teaching. I wake up and think about my lesson, trying to anticipate any issues or problems. When I visit with friends, I talk about teaching. Is this bad? No. But I need to maintain other hobbies and interests in the midst of it all, right? But when....? I haven't picked up a book for myself in a long time...but that's what Christmas break is for!)
2. Relationships: 4/5 (This is generous - mostly because I feel like those friends and family members that I have relationships with are just really wonderful people who understand that I'm a flake who only likes to talk about herself. Fortunately for me, they are patient and kind despite my self-centeredness. Luckily, the hubs loves to hear all my crazy stories and doesn't get too tired of them after 3 months. They really have been the ones to help me through the crazy times, let me vent during the hard times, and celebrate the good times in a healthy, productive way.)
3. Finances: 2/5 (I knew before I ever started that teaching was not the profession you choose to inflate the pocketbook; however, it is stressful to hear about teachers bringing candy for their classes, cooking breakfast for their classes, offering prizes for their classes, buying sets of textbooks for their classes, etc. all the while knowing that I can't. After Sean and I established a budget, I realized just how far an intern's salary goes for two people. Not far, my friends. Not far. But it has caused me to become more aware of alternatives - rather than offering donuts to the class who behaved the best for the sub, I offered extra credit. It's free to me and means a lot to most of them. But I know some of my less motivated boys would have loved the food much more... So - I'm working on this one.)
4. Health: 3/5 (I started off the year knowing that I would struggle to eat. I always have. Not healthy. Not good. When I get busy and stressed, I don't have time for food! Who does? So, I told myself I was going to make some changes to make sure I didn't starve myself (and binge when I got home) for the next year. So - I Slimfasted. The stuff tastes great, let me tell you. I'm all for chocolate at any time of the day! A shake for breakfast, a shake and apple for lunch - it has worked wonderfully. Though, I might need to buy a few new items for my teacher wardrobe now that my clothes have decided to look bigger and baggier than I intended. Shoot. And woot! I do miss my exercise though - I sometimes dream about a long, invigorating run across Provo, but that dream is quickly dismissed at the thought of an hour more of sleep! Oh well.... Living and learning...)
5. Spiritual Well-Being: 4/5 (All of this - all of the struggles, triumphs, heartaches, etc. - I have shared with my Savior. I have learned so much about our Father's Plan of Salvation from the little experience I have gained teaching. We come to this earth to do what? LEARN. The Lord simply asks us to "do our homework" and we find excuses, we forget, we refuse to listen thinking we know better. He has promised us unnumbered blessings if we just do our work: read our scriptures, pray, serve others, go to the temple, etc. And we still don't seem to get it. It all sounds so familiar to me and my classroom! Though I know I can do more to rely on Him and make Him a part of my teaching efforts (and Heaven knows I can be better at doing my "homework" on time), I feel closer to Him than I have before.)
Room for improvement, my friends. But not too shabby. :D
You've responded to some important parts of the mideterm eval that we seem to have left out. I'm glad #2 and #5 are around a 4, even if it's at the expense of the others.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say in the way of encouragement is that it won't always be this off balance. I think those first years of teaching are like training for your first marathon. No matter how much planning and prepping you do, it's hard, soul-sucking work! You feel every mile/lesson, you are painfully aware of how much more you have to go, and your muscles and body and spirit might hurt in ways you previously thought impossible because in some ways, your muscles have never been stretched like that before. However, the payoff is also beautiful.
The more you train/teach, the easier it gets. I know some people don't believe in muscle memory, but eventually so much of what took work initially becomes second nature. You just know how to respond in certain situations, you don't have to think about what would be the best approach to teaching a certain subject, and you've figured out exactly how to respond to the question/statement, "I need a pencil."
What I'm trying to say is that it gets easier. If those wonderful people who are encouraging you now will hang with you through the next year or two (remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint), then when you've hit your stride they'll be the beneficiaries of your extra time and energy. Or, then you can add something new to your plate...