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Name: Jay Figbey Blotts
Gender: Female
Interests: jesus, people, large metropolitan areas, students, living in large groups, books about large metropolitan areas, fashion, design, clothes, friends in large metropolitan areas, enterpreneurship, art, blues, clapton, owen wilson, christian bale, movies, dogs, camping, canoeing, skiing, second jobs, meeting new people, road trips, budgeting, wardrobe planning, winging it
Expertise: wardrobe planning, stilletos, using everything in my closet at least once a year, banana pudding, mashed potatoes, shopping for presents, shopping in general
Occupation: Education/training
Industry: Art
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
3/31/2005
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| ...now I am doing an entry on Xanga about 1-2 times a year. This summer has flown by. A lot has happened, but not enough to fill up a whole summer. Where did my time go??? :)
This will be my third year teaching. I think the beginning of the school year is always a nervous time, at least a little bit. After not teaching for the summer, there is always the small thought of, "Can I do this again? Do I remember how to teach?" It's not as though I haven't been back in 10 years. I think that it is just the dread of being on someone else's schedule again that is the main problem. It's a good problem to have, seeing as how it is how I pay for my life.
The beginning of the school year is always great, to me, once it gets started. And the end is the worst part. Somewhere in the middle are the times when I think to myself as I am cutting out construction paper shapes or painting a giraffe with watercolors: "This is a great job!!!"
To spend that much time with children is certainly a blessing. They really do have so much going on. I'm not trying to wax poetic or anything, but if you could spend time with 500 kids a week you would know what I am talking about. They are amazing. Incredible. Needy. Naughty. Young souls. And most of all Fun! I know that even I find myself doing things all the time that I would get on to them for. Leaning my chair back on two legs. Spinning scissors around my pointer finger in the air. Throwing glitter in the air or on the floor just to see what it looks like as it falls. I think if I can just keep that in mind as I deal with them on a daily basis, then I can keep my sanity. They must have structure (one of my least favorite things), but they can have a blast while having that need met.
My cousin Sarah made her own description of my job/life: "A trail of glitter follows her wherever she goes." And with an existence like that, it can't be half bad... | | |
| On the subject of boys' behavior at age 11-12...(and older)
I just had a conversation with a 5th grade girl about boys. She said
"Why do they act like that?" I told her I didn't know, but that they
never stop acting like that and I didn't know why. She said..."Because
they suck." My sentiments exactly....
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| SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | | |
| I got a job in NLR! I am very excited and can't wait to start...although something tells me I should be sad that the summer is over. I actually am sad that it is over, but at the same time I am excited. I think this teaching thing can get under your skin in several different ways. One is obvious--when the kids start driving you crazy! But the less obvious way is that you start to love to develop relationships with your kids and they become like a little puzzle to figure out. They act the way they do for a reason and it is always a challenge to figure that out. Plus, you get to help them be who they are going to be and overcome things they don't know they can get past yet.
You have a lot of power when you are a teacher...power that can be used for good or evil. I think God has changed my heart so much this summer about my attitude towards kids. A lot of it has to do with Him using all the new information I have gotten lately in workshops. Information that I needed so much. Last year was crazy. I was thrown into my job and I was not prepared for it. We all made the best of it because we had to. I feel bad for the kids, though, because I did not know how to communicate to them what I expected but I still expected it. All that to say that I have learned so much since then and I would never want to be the teacher who kills a kids dreams or puts them down. We get them when they are still forming who they will be. You can either encourage them and empower them to be something great (because they are all capable) or you can put them down and crush their little spirits. You can do that. They will believe you, too. However I find myself screaming (to myself) like Paul..."May it never be!"
Last year I prayed every day during our school moment of silence that I would never say anything that He didn't want me to say and that He would watch over my actions. This year I think it will be more like this: "Lord, not only protect me from what I might do or say, but protect them from what I might do or say in a fleeting moment because I will easily forget it but it will stay with them FOREVER." | | |
| Hi! I have been officially out of school now for one week. What a great thing it has been. I can sense, however, that once I have to go back that I will be okay with that. It was never so bad. Now that I shouldn't have to teach elementary next year I think I can make it.
Ever since summer started the past couple of weeks or so I have been filling my days with all kinds of stuff. I have spent a lot of time with friends and have been busy enough that it really doesn't make sense. It has been a good busy. I look forward to connecting with a lot of friends this summer. It oughtta be great.
I will also be educating myself more this summer which I am looking forward to. I am going to a conference next week for Tech stuff in the classroom and at the end of the month I am going to get certified to teach AP Studio Art. What a blast that is going to be! Really! It sounds like it is going to be one big studio time for a week straight! Awesome!
Also I have lots of ideas about some things I would like to do personally with art this summer. It pretty much has to do with painting. I would like to do some things in the style of Lichtenstein and Warhol. I am a total Modern Art fanatic now and can't wait to live some of that out. Speaking of that, I hope everyone knows that there is an AMAZING art exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center right now having to do with Picasso. I haven't been to it yet, but I hear it is ridiculous. It is not a travelling thing either...just an Arkansas thing, which helps to put us on the map a little more. Can't wait to catch that!
Other than that, I am hoping to have some serious time to spend with the Lord this summer. I look forward to it. I revel in it. Dying for it.
See you guys! | | |
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