Back to School

It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote; life has been busy now that the kids and I are back to school. The year has started out amazingly well. After experiencing so much stress the first few years and never feeling like I quite knew what I was doing, it is such a relief to feel like I have entered my comfort zone and am really enjoying all of my classes.

I feel very fortunate that one of my classes, African History, was cancelled. (I had so many take it last year that it ended up with only one student and he didn't really need the course.)

Now I can focus on my two main classes; US History and World History. Plus I have my favorite course, AP World History. It actually takes most of my planning time, but it's a fun class, well, I don't think the students are having fun yet, they're still getting used to frequent quizzes and a variety of assignments (often more than one a night!)

It's also a lot of fun to just enjoy students, even the ones I don't have in class right now are fun to connect with in the hall or in the Canteen/Student Lounge.

In many ways I can really identify with the school theme for the year, "Be transformed" from Romans 12:2.

In so many ways I feel my teaching and my attitude towards teaching has become so much less stressful and more ... joyful I guess! I thank God I can enjoy teaching and guiding my students. I only hope that they too can enjoy my classes and see God in me.

It's not easy to be the one to set the example, especially when I still have my own issues to work on, things like getting to school on time (I haven't been late yet!), keeping up on my marking (I need to get some tests marked tonight if I am going to keep to the three-day turn around goal), staying organized (my desk is still a mess, but I'm keeping to my new syllabi) and the list goes on.

I pray that you too might find yourself transformed in a way that your goals can be met and that your relationship with God is at the top of that list. May your transformation be a time of movement; moving closer to God and letting Him infiltrate and be in charge of every aspect of your life. I hope you find it as fun and yes, as joyful as I do!

Dorthea