Greetings, everyone.

Well, I haven't posted since June of 2002. How neglectful of me!

I have been guilted into responding to the Stats Forum - not because I have not wanted to do so, but because I thought once I left post secondary education that I would have some free time. Wrong!

Paul's email has been sitting in my inbox since March 2003, staring me in the face each time I opened my email. The guilt has been mounting ever since. So, today I courageously read all the postings for the past two years, and I have caught up with news from past friends.

Well, my life pales in comparison to others on the Forum. Currently, I'm in my second year of teaching Grade One in Richmond Hill. Four weeks into the 2002/2003 school year, I was declared surplus and transferred to another school. Fortunately, the new school was only 6 km away from my old school. And, I was given another Grade One class. So, since then I have been teaching Grade One at Silver Pines P.S. at Elgin Mills/Yonge St. Grade One is an amazing year, if you can get past the fact that the students never sit still and never stop talking! Mr. Wooden? Mr. Wooden? Mr. Wooden? Mr. Wooden?

I'm still trying to figure out where the 'off' button is on the kids. They exhaust me! However, they also surprise me on a daily basis. They are so loving, genuine, and excited about learning. They may be precocious at times, but never pretentious. In Grade One, the transformation is amazing - students enter with knowledge of sounds, letters, and some words. They leave literate and confident. How exciting! The emotional fulfillment and validation I receive daily far outweighs any sense of accomplishment I felt working in Critical Care for 17 years!

Currently, I'm not in post graduate work, unless you can call Additional Qualification courses as post graduate work. Currently, I'm taking specialist courses in Primary Education and Computers in the Classroom. I am considering starting my Masters In Education in a few more years, but I would like to have more classroom experience on which to draw when doing my MEd. Then, who knows! I'm toying with Administration. My former fellow TA's will attest to the fact that I'm bossy, so I should make a good administrator, don't you think?

Well, that's about it. Tomorrow is the first day back to school, and I have butterflies in my stomach. However, I have missed the kids over the holidays.

Take care everyone. And, best wishes for the new year.

Thanks again, Paul.

James

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2004