Four down, 170 days to go.

Well, I survived my first week as a teacher.

And it was exhausting.  There's still some (okay, a lot) of things that still are "in progress," but for the most part this has been good.  I'm still trying to establish myself and figure out how best to teach these kids.  They're dragging their scholastic feet a little, especially regarding reading.  Of the 21 students I work with, five or six seem to really enjoy reading.  And it seems my best reader is one of the 5th graders.  I assign two chapters and she reads seven.  On Tuesday I gave my kids (the 7th and 8th graders) a simple assessment to see what they remember.  I've done this before.  On the quiz was a map of the US, which I had them label as best they could.  Well, like last time it didn't work too well.  Only one did better than 90%.  Yesterday I gave them another states quiz, but this time three got 100% and five got over 90%.  Maybe there's hope for them yet.  Despite realizing there is more to do than I expected, I think I can handle it.

Greeting from Little Egypt, on the banks of the lovely Mississippi River

Sorry it has been so long, but its finally here: the first Terminal Introvert post from outside Nebraska!  This means two things.  One) I have a teaching job.  And two) I'll need to buy some Husker shirts.

I've been really busy getting my classroom set up, so I won't be posting a lot for the rest of the month.  Sorry to tease.  But here's the gist: my first day teaching is August 20th.  The school is Trinity Lutheran School in a community known locally as Prairie, just outside Red Bud, Illinois.  The church was founded in 1847.  The class I will be in charge of is 7th and 8th grade in a combined semi-self-contained classroom.  That means I have them for most of the classes, trading only for music and math, which is fine.  There will be, according the the latest count, nine 8th graders and two 7th graders.  Oh, and when my kids go for math, I take the 5th and 6th and do English.  And I have to get ready to coordinate a science fair.  And lead a class trip to Washington D.C. at the end of the year.  And rebuild the literature selection for four grades.  And create curriculum for all of my classes from scratch, which this year includes theology, biology, early American history, vocabulary, Illinois government, art, and physical education.  And I may get to lead youth Bible studies a couple Sundays a month.  Its exhausting just writing all that.

Commissioning and installation is this upcoming Sunday, August 11th.  Thank God He brought me this far.