Don't Wait...

I just got back from having a great conversation with a buddy (Keegan Bloomfield) of mine as I was biking back from the music building. We both are currently applying our trade of teaching at Seward High School and each lunch together everyday. We were reflecting on how much of a blessing it has been to go through this experience together and share stories. We shared how we are both still unsure about teaching as a career. It's so easy to just get stuck in a routine and not actually feel like you are doing something that matters. We both talked about how important it will continue to be to have other like-minded teachers on staff when we get out first gigs teaching. Just having a mentor to keep you focused on WHY you are teaching in the first place would be monumental in terms of our growth in ministry. Because that's what it is right? Isn't teaching a ministry? Didn't we decide to go into this profession because we wanted to impact young lives? So what are we waiting for? How come we look forward to the final bell of the day just like the students? Are we becoming complacent? I think that's part of it. You see, as a student teacher, you are just trying to make it. We don't really know what we are doing half the time and we find ourselves clock-watching the other half. Keegan summed it all up tonight when he said, "The devil feeds off of complacency". It's so true. I found myself becoming complacent. I found myself just filling time instead of actually planning something meaningful. We both recalled out amazing experience meeting the team of teachers from Orange Lutheran and how passionate they were about their ministry. I think I need to be in that type of environment. Don't get me wrong, Seward is a great place...but it's tough when you can't talk about the very reason you got into the job in the first place. Without that daily reminder of WHY, I and many other teachers turn ministry into a 9-5. There is too much work to be done.

I feel better now. Perhaps rejuvenated is the correct word for it. Whatever it is...this is how I want to feel once the school day is over. Is teaching hard? Yes. Is it extremely exhausting? Yes. Do high school kids make me want to bang my head against a cement wall sometimes? Ya you betcha. Is it worth it? That's up to you.

Cheers

p.s.- The mixed chorus kids are making sounds they never thought possible

p.p.s.- I love the fact that they don't even realize it yet