I am now done with 2 terms of teaching, two-thirds of the way through my first year out on the front lines. I can’t believe it’s been this long, and I can’t believe how much I’ve learned since the beginning. I think back to my first couple of lessons – when I prepared for like 2 hours for a 10 minute introduction lesson, or when I stood in front of the class with basically a script for the day and went through it with my shoulders hunched, too tense to relax, or when I had no clue how to deal with high school girls crying (and I had girls crying in the first place), or when I had students squirming in anguish during an unfairly difficult term final. This has been an incredibly meaningful experience, and I feel great about my job decision. And who knows – I wasn’t expecting it, but perhaps this is a career decision too…

And for Spring Break: Welcoming the parents to my adoptive home country. I can’t wait to see how Doug and Laurie interact with Jordan, and I’m excited to finally share with someone all these things about my life that a silly blog can’t possible convey.

And to leave you with the email from a student that kicked off my spring break…

“Nevertheless, I just wanted to thank you for another great term; I really enjoy learning Physics with you. I know this is your first year as a teacher, but I just wanted to tell you that you’re really good at it! I think that it’s because of the way our classes are balanced in a way that makes them really fun, yet also intellectually stimulating as well.”