This Teachering Thing

I’m as exhausted as I am exhilarated by my first proper week of full time teaching. My students are fantastic, my colleagues are a tremendously welcoming and lovely bunch, and my feet hurt a heck of a lot.

This teachering thing I’m doing has has coincided with moving houses, so that has been a laugh [read: faff] and a half. Shout out to my very cool friends for hosting me at theirs for the week between leases – it was a comfy af airbed, let me tell you.

Highlights have included: vegan cookie dough ice creams for morning tea, seeing kids enthusiastic and energetic during learning activities, and being asked if I’m an actual, actual teacher by skeptical teenagers. I’ll take that as a compliment. I guess a jade blazer, lanyard and surgical face mask doesn’t quite conceal my baby face. On the flip side, Pak’n’save Employee did not I.D. me for booze the other day — must have been the eye bags and the boring, sensible grocery haul. I felt almost offended?! Mixed messages, people.

Also! Having an actual paycheck is blowing my mind. I splashed out a little at the supermarket this week. By splashed out, I mean vegan cheese, coconut yoghurt, frozen pizza, and fancy sauerkraut. It makes a glorious change to be less concerned about how much things cost and more able to prioritise quality and appeal. That goes for furniture too. I love my sexy new teal bean bag and am keen to go op shopping for the last bits and bobs I require.

I am considering creating a teaching-related blog to share my resources, learnings and reflections as a first year kaiako. The tone would be more professional, the posts more brief, and it would be the ideal place to document my experience in real time. First thing’s first, I’ll need a good name…