So I just finished my first full week of classes teaching eighth grade English for the sixth year. After meeting my students, I am just overjoyed to be teaching again. It is such a privilege to be with them, to read their writing, and to listen to them make sense of the world. I am proud to say that I am a much better teacher than volleyball player.
That said, I am grappling with working an over-ful day -- nearly fifteen hours yesterday with the evening Parent Orientation -- and getting out to the sand to practice. I am not sure how people with children and jobs manage to balance life's responsibilities and stay sane let alone physically fit. I realized after two days of saying that I'd go to the gym after school and not going, that I would not have the energy to workout after school, so I set my alarm for 4:30 am and went before school. Let me tell you that it was not easy to get out of bed when the alarm went off, but I sure was glad at the end of the day that I had checked that off my list 12 hours earlier.
Next week should be easier. I decided to take some pressure off myself by ending my volleyball season and taking some time off training while I tackle another opponent -- reading scores. Not sure if any of you know this, but "good" teaching these days does not mean reading class novels and sending kids home to read a chapter here and there. These days, students in a typical classroom read within a range of eight grade levels. "Good" teaching means that students are reading novels within their own reading range so that means I could have eight different novels going at one time. This is called "differentiation." It is a challenge, but the students deserve it.
Though I am going to take some time off training, I did promise my trainer at Health Track that I would make it to two spin classes a week and gradually get into my off-season strength building plan. My only worry right now is motivation. I ate well, drank water, and got to the gym for the last year because I wanted to be healthy, strong, and prepared for all the elements of beach volleyball; basically, I didn't want to suck. This week, knowing I did not have a tournament, I skipped meals and went thirsty because I couldn't tear myself away from my lesson plans. Some reflection time is in order this weekend to set some new goals. For starters, I think being healthy is a worthwhile goal...
