It's been 3 months since I last posted. I think that, for a week anyway, the blog was my therapy. Someone to talk to in a time of need. Unfortunately, I did go back to the school I've been at for the past four years. The upside? At the end of this, my fifth year, I can apply for reimbursement for my student loan. Finally, something positive from this experience!
Of course, blah blah blah, teaching is a great experience in itself!
I've got a new class this year, sculpture, which I am really enjoying. I've been inspired by past college classes, contemporary and classic sculptors, as well as stuff I just come up with. The other day, a new teacher asks me,
Where do I come up with my lesson plans?
Uh....my head? doesn't everyone do that? (Apparently not.)
Speaking of new teachers, I am a new-teacher mentor this year. A small stipend ( that may buy me a kiln!) was my only incentive. It's really interesting though, to watch this new-to-teaching person try to handle all the stuff that comes with this job. That first year, especially the first semester, is so difficult, I can't even begin to describe how hard it was. Let's just say, I drank a loooootttt of wine....
My garden has been my coping mechanism. The summer crop has passed, save for a few die hard tomato plants, and the fall vegetables are in the ground. I've already has a few salads with the lettuce. I thought the end of the growing season would be sad, but really, I can feel the earth's need to rest and rejuvenate after the strain of the growing season. The summer plants look tired, spent, weary from the heat and the growth. They need to rest. To recuperate. This winter and spring is going to feel very differently to me now. I can feel the importance of the season now that I never felt before.
wondrous day.
