Downing them jaded pills

One school year down (well, technically 4/5 of a year). It seems like an eternity since I started working as a teaching assistant at the middle school. I came in bright-eyed and bushy tailed, eager to tackle the challenges of meeting the needs of pubescent kids. For almost half a year, I was able to keep a positive attitude and earnestly believe that they could change for the better.
Unfortunately a person can only give so much of himself with little to no positive reinforcement before he seriously questions his idealism. I hit that will after Christmas break, which is when the kids start ramping up into "I don't care about anything" mode. It's really sad when you learn about their home situations, as 90% of them come from broken homes and burdened with its baggage. Many times it's painfully obvious where much of their mentality and personalities come from when we end up talking to their guardians. Like they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Long story short, I went through a really tough last couple months at work. Many days I would flirt with the idea of quitting, but kept reminding myself that this was a job that God provided for me, and I needed to stick it out. I'm definitely really thankful for my experiences. Seriously. I think I am so much more equipped for dealing with classroom management now after working with all those punks. =) Even outside of the things I picked up firsthand teaching, I got to rub shoulders with some teachers who really inspire me to want to be like them. You hear in the news all the bad educators who sleep with their students or are incompetent, but you never hear anything about the inspirational ones that give you hope for our future. Trust me, there are some great ones out there who give 100% and daily give everything they have to see each child succeed. Props to them for the unrecognized work they do.

Below is the only picture I was able to take on my last day (it was filled with assemblies and packing/cleaning). If you're wondering, yes, that is, indeed, the famous Round Rock Donut. I had been raving about it to them the entire year, and as a reward/ celebration for surviving, I got each class one. Hahaha, their reactions were amazing, I wish I could have video recorded it. But yeah, I'm definitely going to remember this past year, and hope I continue to grow a greater heart for my future students.