barn owls

Today we read a story about barn owls and I showed them a youtube video of one screeching. They LOST it. It was pretty scary. MSU (one of the boys classes) was awesome today!! Great answers in class, quiet when they needed to be. I was so thankful. It inspired me to stay late at work and be productive. I moved my desk to the front of the room and it's really cozy there. I'm just trying to re-cap my day, I guess. Today was pretty uneventful. S- started scratching his head in class and I guess his scalp was dry and all these flakes were getting everywhere and he got very upset either because people were laughing, I'm not really sure. Either way, he ended up getting teary and had to leave the room. It was an awkward that I felt unprepared to deal with. On the one hand, I wanted to sympathize with him, on the other he was being extremely disruptive and I couldn't tell if it was for show.

You need so much intuition as a teacher. Sometimes I think that being TFA causes me to lack some sort of common teacher sense. Maybe it will build up within me before it's all over.

On a non-teaching note...my dad bought me an electric nail gun and a skill saw, and I'm hoping to get some structures built soon so I can start painting again. Several experiences I've had recently (visiting SCAD, Kentuck, etc.) have made me realize that I have lost an absolutely essential part of myself along this teaching journey. I am not a teacher. I may teach now, and I certainly give it my all, but I am first and foremost an artist. That is a part of myself that I will never escape or outgrow. It has been so long since I have created something. Daniel told me to never stop making, and I have been still for too long. I can't continue to be without creating, without making. My life is so stressful, and I need something that is outside of children and reading levels and referrals. I need me back.