lessons from teaching

Here are some of my reflections on the little things I have learned during 2 years of teaching high schoolers:

1. Learn students' names as quickly as possible.
2. Have high expectations of students and myself.
3. Keep the rules simple: be respectful, be obedient, be prepared.
4. Laugh often.
5. It is good to take personal days and be reminded that there is life outside the classroom.
6. Things won't be perfect.
7. Teaching the same class 7 times a day is a bad idea.
8. I don't like to work out after a day of teaching, but if I do I feel about 1000 times better.
9. Giving students bacteria, permanent stains, and scalpels makes me stressed, but I still love hands-on learning.
10. Just when I feel completely exhausted/stressed/overwhelmed, the students remind me why I picked this job.