I've been chanting that in my head for the last several weeks, ever since I finished "Educating Esme: Diary of a First Year Teacher" by Esme Raji Codell. What a brilliant teacher/writer/person in general. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't read this book sooner. I received it as a Christmas gift last year right before I began student teaching. Maybe I was too anxious about the impending challenge to even think about it. Maybe I was afraid it would present me with situations that I thought I was ill-equipped as a student teacher to handle. I don't know. But now I am kicking myself. Why oh why did it sit all lonesome on my shelf for almost a full year? ARG.
True, it would have crushed me and made me feel better in turns about this profession that I was flinging myself into. This might have driven me half or possibly full-on mad. But I would have gotten some priceless ideas and many, many good laughs.
A TIME MACHINE IN THE CLASSROOM...um, yes please. Also, because I am, and always have been, daunted by the word "Math" I will call this most hated subject "Puzzling" in my classroom. I think it will lessen its powers of intimidation over us all.
From this book, I have also learned that it is more than OK to spend all your extra money on a stellar classroom library, and it is also OK to veer terribly off-course during the course of a lesson as long as you are the driver in a sturdy off-road vehicle.
Honestly, this post was not supposed to be entirely about this book. What I really wanted to say is that I am frustrated, I am depressed, I am downright angry about not having a position locked in for next school year. I wanted to rant about the sorry state of education in this country, and that teachers should be treated as a loved, valued, finite resource, not a casualty of state budgets. But I can't, because that's force with no motion.
And I'd rather spend my force building a refrigerator box time machine.
