The Home Stretch

One of the wonderful benefits of being a teacher is being on the academic calendar. There is a clear start and finish to each year and there is something refreshing about that. During this time of year, which I call “the home stretch,” mental and emotional fatigue begins to settle in, and it gets harder and harder to get out of bed every morning. This year in particular, I’ve felt like hitting the wall unlike in years past. I had a co-worker tell me today, “You look woren.” “Is it that obvious?” I replied. I have been trying to medicate myself by adding bacon to every meal.

Maybe it’s working a second job, trying to finish up my teaching credential, studying at UCLA (live campus – I dislike online classes) to get my certificate in financial planning (CFP), helping lead our Grace Group (home bible study), and the Lakers season going up in flames that’s contributed. In addition, I’m preparing for a basketball tournament at the end of the month so I’m putting in extra hours at the gym.

Maybe I’m over committed to too many different things. I probably should cut back on some things. Whatever the case, summer is almost here and there are about 25 days left in the school year. Summer is truly the light at the end of the tunnel that gives hope to all teachers (as well as students). By this time, most families are planning their vacations, California State Testing (CST) is over, and the students are almost completely checked out, you know, like the Lakers checked out at the end of the season. Anyway, I don’t think I’m being over ambitious.

By late June, I’ll be finished with my teaching credential, which is a big accomplishment considering that most of those education classes were like being trapped in a Saw movie. I wanted to saw off my own foot several times throughout the program and probably would’ve if I actually had a saw handy. By the end of June I’ll have my Life Insurance license, which is a key component to financial planning. Furthermore, I’ll have more time to focus on my 2nd career as a CFP (I know that I need to write a blog about this and I will soon), get some sleep, and drive my wife crazy.

It’s just my motto of “Work hard now, Play even harder later.” And everything I do is setting up that motto to become a reality. In retrospect, it’s been a great year. The kids were great (most of them), the parents were nice (most of them), and the year went rather smoothly (most of the time). So into the summer I’ll be taking memories from this year such as the time Diego (2nd grader) said, “Mr. Jay, I want to learn how to count, so I could count my money, so I could become a police officer, so I could eat doughnuts.” I replied by saying, “Yes, it’s important to count your money and eat doughnuts.”

Or the time when I had a 5th grade girl say to me, “Mr. Jay, what’s wrong with your Lakers? They’re falling apart” with me quickly making her write standards the rest of the hour while chanting, “Ko-be, Ko-be, Ko-be.”

Or the time I was in a Kindergarten class, my memory of the kids telling each other “Relax! You gotta RE-LAX when you’re at school,” instead of going to their teacher all the time to resolve their relational conflict. Hearing 5 yr-old(s) say that to each other never gets old.

Also, watching the student mature throughout the year is a rewarding feeling. Or at least the ones that actually mature. I try to have high expectations with them, push them hard and have fun in the midst of all the madness that goes on during the school year. I guess, for right now, there's nothing else I would rather be doing. Especially now that the Lakers' season went up in smoke.

In short, I have 25 more days left- then some much needed rest, a little bit more work, and some play and we’ll do it all over again next year (hopefully, if they hire me back).