I Am Officially A Real Teacher

I'm hoping this can be a place where I can process and fill in everyone on the day to day happenings of my first years of teaching.  For those of you who do not know, I have been hired to teach 6th grade History and English in a charter school.  This is a welcome change to the 7th grade math I taught this summer.  For those of you who know me well, you know middle school is an area I hoped I would never have to work in but when I began praying that God would send me where he wanted me, I knew the possibility would be high that I would be hired in a place that is not my strong point. This story is a bit longer so I will do another post to fill everyone in on the journey of being hired and specifically in my school.



What makes it the most challenging is that I will be teaching in Watts, a very low income, high violence inner city area in South Los Angeles.  It is infamous for the Watts Riots and the Rodney King beating.  While these are clearly not things to be proud of, Watts is an area with a rich history and amazing people who I get to work with.  I will do another post shortly of the realities of living and teaching in Watts.

Our school is one of only a few charter schools that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has chosen to implement a pilot program where teachers are evaluated and their pay is merit based.  This is done through the...

This is somewhat of a scary thing to face knowing my performance is what will dictate if I get a raise or not but it is also exciting to know that I may be able to make a competitive salary that most teachers are unable to do in a more traditional setting.

This week has consisted of Professional Development, meeting my partner teacher and the next few days will be spent getting my classroom ready.

Please be praying for me as I prepare for what I know will be a very challenging year.  I am excited but also extremely nervous and trusting fully that this is where God has called me.  I am trusting that for these two years, this is my mission field.  The realization that I have a big and necessary job to do weighs heavily on me.  I know that this is where I am supposed to be and with that comes a huge responsibility.  Christ has entrusted these 150 students to me and to my classroom, I may be the only Christian they encounter and daily I need to be pointing them to Christ in my relationships with them and in the way I run and operate my classroom.

Please pray with me this week for a clear head, enough sleep, trust that God knows far better than I do what my purpose is.  Please also check in frequently, it is comforting to know I am covered in prayer as I open up my class and I know through prayer that the lives of my students can be transformed and aligned with Christ!  Thanks all!!