See I told you she's smiling

Yesterday I was a minute late getting into the hallway in between classes. (I always greet my students at the door by their names.) We're in the middle of building our toothpick bridges so I had to make sure the last class had cleaned up. And as I hurried into the hallway with my clipboard and pen to take attendance as students entered, one of my physicists was almost to my door, talking to another student as he came. "See! I told you she's always smiling." (Apparently he had said, Watch, Mrs. Fitz gonna be smiling. Ha.) "She's always happy. Hi Mrs. Fitz!" And that of course made me smile bigger!

One of the greatest compliments I ever received was during the valedictorian speech my second year of teaching. I didn't have him as a student. I hadn't ever even noticed him, and the kid was like 6'7" or something ridiculous. But apparently he had a class down the hall from me, and he mentioned me in his speech at graduation. While he was listing aspects of our school they would all remember, he said, "And I don't think I ever saw someone leaving Ms. Potter's room who wasn't happy!" (Oh, back when I was Ms. Potter!)

Wow. So honored. Just... wow. If I had a goal for how my classroom was perceived, that would be it. Enter here, leave happy. 

Today I was again a minute late getting into the hallway, 'cause, you know, bridges bein' built. A student walked into my classroom before I had made it into the hallway and he said, "Mrs. Fitz you didn't greet me! I'm coming in again!" And walked back into the hallway so that I could take my position outside my door and say, "Good afternoon! Welcome to physics class!" And he smiled the whole time.

I love fashion, and don't you know that you're never fully dressed without a smile!

Smiles are contagious. 

School should be full of them.

The most wonderful compliment I could receive.

Most Likely to Succeed

My school's yearbook is doing a page on teachers who won superlatives when they were in high school, and they wanted us to pose with a prop that represented our old superlative. So my students, since they are the best students in the entire universe, photo-shopped my last year's yearbook picture on a Time magazine cover!! It's a piece of paper taped to a Seventeen magazine. And I am going to keep it forever!!!

Just taking a selfie with my Time magazine!

I remember feeling so honored that I got a superlative at my high school, because my high school was so large and I was never "popular;" I was never on any kind of homecoming or prom court. But I was very smart. I ended up being valedictorian and was president of a bunch of different clubs my senior year, (NHS, FCA, Band, etc.)

Most likely to succeed. That's a good one. I'm proud to have gotten that one. I'm honored my peers thought that I would make something of myself. What does it mean to succeed? To make a lot of money? To be popular/a celebrity on social media by having thousands of followers? How about to be fulfilling your life purpose? (Or just identifying your life purpose! Can I hear an Amen!?) To be in the most wonderful marriage I could imagine? To be proud of the person I've become? To be enriching the brains of precious adolescents so that they may succeed in their own lives? Yes. By these standards I have succeeded far more than my wildest dreams. 

Reflecting back on my high school self, I can barely believe it... How content I am with myself and my life. More than content. I am ecstatic about who I am, what I am doing, and who I am doing it with. If I could go back in time I would tell my high school self, just keep at it. Keep working hard. You are going to do it. You are going to be happier than you ever imaged you could, and you are going to be so good at what you do! It was a hard road to get here, and of course it's still hard, but it has always paid off. So keep at it, young ones! You will reap the benefits of your hard work soon. 

Rant: Teachers are superheros and don't you dare belittle them!

My dear cousin and fellow blog writer Bea (Radpunzel Check it out. It will change your life if you're brave enough to be introspective.) shared the following link, and of course I just have to add my two cents!

Manda Carpenter: A Public Letter to the Guys I Heard Talking About Their "Teacher Friend."

This post is SO TRUE! I get so many comments about being "off" in the summers and the other "breaks" I get during the school year. And I normally patiently try to explain to people how much work I do on these "breaks" and how much more work I do than most of them during the week, but sometimes I'm just so exhausted from my intense occupation that I just laugh it off. It honestly doesn't bother me though, because I know I've chosen this profession (and could never do anything else in the world!!!), and I know that most people couldn't handle my job. ;-)  I've chosen a busy life, so it doesn't get under my skin when I hear people complain they have one thing to do at home on a given night, when the only downtime I have all week is the half hour it will take me to eat dinner. (That is presently false though, I've gotten better at scheduling Q-time and me-time.) I know I've chosen a career that requires constant attention for 7 hours and then hours more of work at home; I know I've chosen a career where I spend around $800 a year on supplies for my classroom and materials for projects trying to make learning fun for my kiddos. And it's so worth it, because I am grinning from ear to ear every moment of my hectic job, and I'm making a damn difference in the world!

I just want to send a huge shout out to all my supportive friends who understand my job, who understand how important it is to me and why I can never hang out on weeknights, and don't mind if I grade papers while we hang out all Saturday watching football.

And she mentioned the toll on her marriage. You guys, I know SO MANY fellow teachers whose marriages have been strained because of the extensive toll teaching requires. So. many. Teaching easily consumes one's life. I have had to consciously make sure Q is always my first priority, and make sure I spend quality time with him. I am also very blessed that he understands how vital teaching like a super woman is to me, and supports me so much in that endeavor.

So to my fellow educators, be proud! Because you are doing the most noble job there is on this planet.

(I'm not biased or anything.)

Supermodel status (ha)

Today started out rough. It was Monday. Normally I don't succumb to the Monday blues. I love my job, and I've figured out how to beat the trend by planning a weekly fun event on Mondays: every Monday night is Girls' Night!!! Woohoo! Now I actually look forward to Mondays instead of dreading them!

But today started out rough. I was exhausted in the morning, struggling to be my normal peppy self for my students. I spilled my hot coffee on myself in the hallway during my planning period, (luckily most of it was on my hand and arm, and the few drops that did land on my dress were able to be banished by my trusty tide to-go pen,) and I ducked into my friend's classroom exclaiming "I need an adult!" Much to my dismay my friend did not have any tissues or paper towels. (How does she mother--I mean teach--without tissues and papertowels?!) But a quiet girl I didn't know got a tissue out of her purse for me! Bless that child! Also, now one of my arms is hairier than the other. Thank you, scorching coffee. Haha just kidding :-P

My day got better though! My students really liked the dress I wore today. One student told me I looked like a supermodel! Ha! Yas! Slaying in my A-line knee-length teacher dress! Haha. My students always make me smile. They are seriously the best.

After the supermodel comment another student asked if I could buy a dress with watermelons on it. Eye roll. Smh. Haha. There are no babies like my big-almost-adult-physics babies.

Today's supermodel dress deserved a supermodel photo shoot in the faculty bathroom

The higher the heels, the closer to heaven

^I have a mug that says that at school. I drink coffee out of it and the students love it.

I am obsessed with heels. I own approximately 75 of them... And of course at school I am known for them! Which makes me incredibly happy. But I am not, by any means, a masochist. I always have a pair of cute flip flops with me because I don't drive in heels anymore, (after wearing a hole in my floor mat from dragging heels across it from the brake to the gas every time I drove. This hole proved to be very dangerous because then my heel would get stuck in it when I was trying to go from gas to brake... Anyway, now I drive in flip flops and pack my high heels.) So if at any point during the school day my feet start to hurt I switch into my still-very-stylish flip flops.

Well this afternoon I was teaching, and I had switched into my flip flops, and one of my students raises their hand during notes, (not during a normal part where students ask questions, so I brace myself, wondering what random comment this student is about to share.) "Mrs. Fitz, I can't concentrate when you're not in heels."

"Wha-What?" I asked, incredulously.

"I'm just used to seeing you in heels."

I was amused at this point so I went over and put my heels back on. "Ooh! Aah! Yes!" They all exclaimed, since they had not seen this particular pair before haha. "Much better. Now we can focus." Ha. They make me laugh every day, these kids. :-)

Mmm... love these beauties!

Priorities

I find it hilarious that my last post was the first day of school... Ha! How appropriate! School started and WHAM--too busy to blog! The beginning of the school year is always the busiest, whether you are a first year or twenty-fifth year teacher. I've thought about writing many times, and of course many good stories have happened with this new batch of physicists, but at the end of the exhausted day my top two priorities have always been my husband and my physics classes, and although I wished many a night I had an extra hour to sit up in bed and write a post, extra hours do not exist and spending time with my patient husband and preparing out-of-this-world physics lessons must take precedence.

Well the first quarter has already come and gone, last week was fall break, and this week is the first week of second quarter. I am really going to try to write posts regularly, because I genuinely enjoy writing. So! Here's to busy teachers making time for the hobbies we love!

The Fitzcharleses at a wedding we attended over fall break