Has MTC been easier or harder???

             Ever since I received the email from Ben that read ‘Congratulations, you’ve been accepted into the class of 2010 Mississippi Teacher Corps’ I’ve been attempting to mentally prepare myself for the rigors of teaching in a critical needs school with only six weeks of training.  What I’ve found though is that trying to fully prepare for everything that goes on during even a day of school is nearly impossible.  There are definitely moments where my classroom is chaotic and I have to stop and think why I’m really in the program but there are also so many SMALL pieces of hope that make me so incredibly thankful for this challenging experience. 

            Most people may not count this as a victory but one of my tougher girls who outweigh me by about 50 pounds asked me on Friday, with her hand raised, ‘Mr. Doar, will you please throw out my piece of crumpled paper.’  You may be thinking why I count this as a small victory but in the hall and for the early part of the school year she would either leave of her seat and throw out the piece of paper (a blatant violation of rule #1) or she would tell me ‘Throw out this piece of paper’ (blatant disrespect).  Now this may not be a sure sign that test scores will skyrocket or I will be known as a with classroom management but it does show positive changes are happening. 

           

            Right now it is 8:57am on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and I’m on a plane to see my girlfriend in Pittsburgh.  I’ve been up since 3am and am completely exhausted.  The first five weeks of school have been tiring in almost every way.  I wouldn’t say the day is as tiring as 2 a days for track but man it’s exhausting.  I’m definitely introverted and being loud is probably more tiring for me than most but man I’m so glad I’m in this journey.  Also yesterday we spent the final hour and a half day at an assembly listening to 6^th through 8^th graders stumble over their student council campaign speeches…that was a great end to the week.

            Throughout all the trials and tiring nights I am confident this is where I should be.  Everyday I honestly get on my knees and pray for Christ-like love for the kids and for words to say to ears that enjoy disrespecting authority figures.  That may not sound like fun but boy is it humbling and as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians:

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made PERFECT in WEAKNESS.”