Picture Day

Thursday was picture day!  When discussing it with my students the day before, one informed me (and the class) "Miss Hornback, I be lookin real smooth with my purple tie on picture day!"  He said it with a straight face but I busted.  I was excited to see his "smooth" ensamble but sadly he forgot the purple tie :(

I'm not allowed to take pictures of my students but this is what I was imagining! :)

A few weeks ago I was telling the class that I would be moving to an apartment and that night I was going to buy a bed.  One girl looked at me and said, "Girl, you go buy yo'self a bed at a garage sale."  Haha, I would buy many things at a garage sale but a matress is not one of them!

Though I'm often worn out at the end of the day, wondering if they are truly learning anything....they sure can make me laugh!  That's a start!

Settling In

Well, it was even tougher this week!  The students who are not at 1st grade level (1/3 of my class) are now starting to cause trouble because they are both frustrated and want attention.  It was a week of trial and error, trying to figure out each of these students' motivations (or lack of motivation).  If only I had individual time with each student!  So much could be done both for their academics and self-esteem, one-on-one.  Though it was even tougher this week, I think I am accepting the fact that it is what it is and am feeling better about it.

I'm getting to know their personalities better, which is more fun.  One little girl, I'll call her Jenna, has been in and out of foster care her whole life.  She insists on doing the opposite of what I say, every time!  If I tell the class to close their desks, she will slyly look at me and open it!  I can't figure out why she "tries" to get in trouble!  Why would she want me call her out in front of the class.  Most kids spend their time trying not to stick out.  I guess this little girl needs so much attention that she doesn't care if it is positive or negative :(  I am still "experimenting" with her, trying to figure out what will motivate her to behave positively.  These kids are so psychologically complex because of their lives, that it takes a while to figure them out!

On Friday I had a substitute in the morning because I was pulling out kids one at a time to do a reading test.  Obviously, this was the first sub they had ever had in my class.  One little boy came in to do his test with me and said, "Oh good!  You're here!  Are you still going to be our teacher!?"  I assured him that I would be back in the afternoon with them.  Sadly, probably every adult in his life that has made a promise to him, broke it.  Everyone in his life has given up on him and just left.  He was worried that I wouldn't come back, too.  Maybe I can be the only stable thing in these kids lives.  Though many of their world's are chaotic, school can be a predictable, safe place where they can be free to be themselves.

On a lighter note, I think I've found a church!  It is a big church, only 10 minutes away from me.  It has a lot of ministries and activities that I hope to get involved in soon.  I also love my apartment!  Here are some pictures :)

 I am still pretty excited about my world map shower curtain :)

My new life

Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? My whole life has changed in a matter of two weeks! Two weeks ago, I did not have a job. Since then, I was hired, I've worked for two weeks, I moved into an apartment and had a couple of meltdowns ;)

One day was definitely not enough to prepare for a whole school year. I was really overwhelmed the first few days. Well actually, I still kind of am! :) I have my work cut out for me! I have 24 students. My students are at very different academic levels. They all require individual attention and I wish I had more time in the day! Sadly, it seems as if I am going to have to teach both the kindergarten and 1st grade cirriculum in order to catch up from last year. It's so sad to hear about many of the students life stories.

Even though it has been a really tough couple of weeks, I know that God put all of these specific students in my care for a reason. They need to be cared for. They need to be believed in. I am now eating my words because I remember about a month ago asking God for a hard teaching job. Well, he answered! This is pretty much the hardest job I could have landed in! But, it is not an accident that I was put in room 6 at Erving Elementary. It was all part of a plan I didn't (and sometimes still don't) understand.

I was commuting to work an hour each way for two weeks. I think now that I am settled in my apartment near my school, it will be much easier to separate my school life and home life. I feel like I have kind of dropped off the face of the Earth these last couple of weeks! It will be nice to get my life back. My new life.

Today I went to a new church that I really liked. I am hoping to get involved quickly and find Christian friends. I miss my church community in Korea. Hopefully I will find a similar one here!

And the new chapter begins!

It's been a long time since I was actually excited about going back to school!

It was a rough summer! From the time I got home in March, I have been searching for jobs all over the Midwest almost 8 hours a day! The market is so stiff that it's incredible that I even had some interviews. One job that I interviewed for, I was one of 900 applicants! That's practically every eligible teacher in Michigan! All 900 applicants applying for 1 job. The interviews started in June. I wasn't too nervous in June or July, knowing I still had quite a bit of time.

 I got increasingly frustrated the more rejections I got! I knew I was doing well in the interviews because I was getting call-backs and good feedback. I started to feel like God was playing a trick on me after I got the 11th district rejection! I suppose God was just trying to show me that I couldn't get a job on my own, but only when I trusted that He would give me favor at the right interview. You'd think He could have gotten that point across to me in the first 5 interviews! Haha, nooooo.

 On Thursday, two days before school started, I had no more interviews and no more leads. I pretty much decided that I would have to substitute the whole school year until next spring's hiring season. Friday morning, the day before school starts, I was offered a job! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! I guess God was just trying to prove His point! :) He certainly gets the glory on this one!

 I was able to get into the room this weekend and after a day and a half of preparation, I'm ready to start on Tuesday! Why did He make me go through 5 months of disappointments? I have no idea. I do know that He was preparing me for this job. He prompted all the other 11 schools to say no, so that I would be available when this school said yes! God wanted me to have the absolute best building, best salary and hopefully best students and staff (I haven't met them yet).

 On the way home from signing the contract, I read a marquee that said, "I heard you and I'm working on it. -God" I just laughed! Perfect timing.

 And the adventure begins!