Snowed In & Stir Crazy .... But Still Sentimental

Today marks the eighth snow day my district has had so far this school year. This unexpectedly long leave from the classroom is a direct result, of course, of the worst winter Washington, DC has ever seen. We recently surpassed even the 1899-1900 snow totals. Call it what you will -- Clusterflake 2010, Snowmageddon, Snowpocaplyse, SnOMG, Snowverkill, or all of the above. I'd like to call it the days of enjoy-this-long-break-while-you-can, and no, do not even THINK about how far into June or July we'll be teaching at this point.

What exactly do I do in the classroom, you may ask? Well, here's a sample dialogue that usually transpires as someone asks me what I do for a living:

"I teach."
"Oh! What grade? What subject?"
"Middle school. 8th grade English."
"Oh God, I'm so sorry." 

This is a short, sweet way of saying the following:

"Who would want to deal with the unpredictable, manic, crazy, hormonal messiness that adolescents in middle school bring with them each and every day? Who in their right mind would voluntarily chose to work with the worst of the MOST awkward years of growth and development? Are you ******* OUT OF YOUR MIND???!!!!"

Yes, I am crazy, and yes, I absolutely adore my job ... most days. :) In fact, teaching is the only profession I have found that can rob me of my sanity on a daily basis but still make me want to wake up at 5 a.m. and drive to work each morning. Teaching is a gift, a joy, a struggle, a puzzle, a question mark, an exclamation point, an ellipsis, and, above all, a thoroughly rewarding journey of personal discovery and fulfillment I have been on for the past five years. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I know there are already hundreds of teachers' blogs out there (which is wonderful to see), and I hope to share my story as yet another example of what teachers experience and derive joy -- and heartache -- from every day. I truly believe teachers have the hardest job in the world, and this blog is meant to celebrate the awesome responsibility and privilege we as teachers have -- the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unexpected. I hope you enjoy the ride.