Long Days

There are some days, where I absolutely love my job.

Friday, was definitely one of those days.

My day started like most of mine do, with the alarm clock going off at 4:00 AM.  I stumbled out of bed, to start the process of getting ready. By 5:00 AM, I was out the door, with my breakfast in hand, and on the road.  I arrived at school at 6:00 AM, still dark outside, to begin preparing for the day.  Classes began, and by noon, I was done with my "teaching" for the day. 

Now, on most days, I am able to leave at 2:00.  However, Friday was no ordinary day.  As 2:00 PM came and went, I was in my room, grading papers, looking forward to the events to come.  Before I left the school, I stopped by and watched part of the boy's soccer game.  I didn't get to watch all of it, but they ended up tying, which bumped them up into 4th in the conference, the cutoff to make the playoffs.  I headed over to King High School, one of Poly's biggest rivals (who all of our teams were playing on Friday), to watch our girl's soccer team play at 5:00 PM.  Our girls team have had a great season so far, and is in a tight race for 1st place in the conference.  The game against King, who is tied for third, would go along way to deciding the conference champion.  In a great game, they were able to hang on for a 2-1 victory.  So far, 2-0 against King.

As soon as the game ended, I hung around just long enough to congratulate some of my students on the big win, before heading back to Poly for the Senior Night basketball games.  I got back to school in time to see our girl's start the second half.  They were down, but played hard and fought back.  With a few clutch free throws down the stretch, the Lady Bears were able to hang on for a 46-43 win.

Poly 3- King 0

The guys game tipped off right around 8:00 PM. Poly jumped out early, with King coming back to take the lead.  It was a back and forth game, with all the intensity a rivalry game would normally entail.  The game headed into overtime, and Poly was able to hold on for the 70-67 win. 

Poly 4-King 0

I headed back to my car as the clock struck 10:00 PM.  Tired, I headed back down Highway 60 to head home, finally arriving at home just a little before 11:00 PM. 

I'm amazed how many times I get asked "why do you teach?" On this same day, actually, I had a student ask why I wanted to teach, and not do something, you know, more important.  It is these long days, where I come home late, exhausted that I often love my job the most.  Friday I not only got to teach a subject that I love and think is so vital to know, but I also got to spend my day around some amazing kids.  I got to see them struggle with new ideas in the classroom, work through their own thought processes to understand and comprehend new ideas, and use knowledge they already had.  I got to witness first hand them struggle, fight, sweat, display emotion, work together, and demonstrate the talents they have worked for years to hone.  I saw them triumph, celebrate, and show true joy.

I am lucky enough to be a part of these students' lives.  There is nothing else I would rather be doing.  That my friends, is why I teach.