I'll Admit I Watched the Movie

I'll admit that I am here because I watched "Julie and Julia" and identified with Julie Powell. I want the same result, but not the book deal or the marriage that almost shattered; I want to accomplish a goal. I went to see the movie because a dear lady who I had taught with until her retirement said it was wonderful and I wanted to end my summer with a wonderful movie. It was a wonderful movie, but what caught my imagination and brought me here was the simple statement that Julie makes. She has ADD and she needs to be held responsible to complete the goal, to be given a reason to stay on task. Bells rang!!! I too have ADD and it's so hard to have the goal - to see it in its entirety shining like a beacon - until something else catches your attention and that too looks like a shining beacon in the distance. I want this goal to be realized though, and I have tried notebooks and journals and post its... I need someone to hold me accountable. You, dear anonymous audience, can hold me accountable. Hey, it worked in the movie...

I don't want to cook my way through a cookbook though. My passion isn't cooking. Ha! Just ask my 16 year old. He would gladly tell you that cooking is not my passion although I am a decent cook. My passion is teaching. I teach US History and I absolutely love my job. However, as I said before, I have ADD and I always think of things to do differnetly. I read constantly and start way too many sentences with "research says" or "this article I read says". Teachers are supposed to have lovely organized binders of assignments and lesson plans. This is my 5th year as a teacher... where the heck are my binders of detailed lesson plans??? Why do I start each year planning? So, this is my goal, I want to be a GREAT teacher and at the end of the school year that begins September 1st and ends June 10th, I want to have compiled the binder, the starting place, the treasure trove of lesson plans that can help my students succeed.

So, the blog is entitled "Teaching is Harder than You Think" and I have yet to touch on why it's hard other than to say I have ADD and get distracted easily. Students come to school today with shorter attention spans, ruder attitudes, and for the most part, parents who think free public education means they don't have to do anything. It's hard to take a wonderful subject like US History and make it come alive for them. I am excited though! This blog will force me to create amazing plans every day which is what I want. I don't just want to be a teacher; I want to be a GREAT teacher... but trust me, teaching is harder than you think....