Well today was rather eventful yet not at the same time.

I had work today ... good staff. I enjoyed myself although I think others did not share my glee. For one, Tiff is sick as a ... as a Tiff I guess. She's got a bad head cold and an upper respiratory infection. Liz seemed drained today because she had SATs in the morning with the new and improved writing system ... throws the entire scoring system off though. It's going to confuse the heck out of people. Then there was Megan who also was initially not cheery although she seemed to brighten as the day went on, which made my day better.

Overall, not a bad day at work though. It was rather busy but nothing we couldn't handle. Jeff is rearranging stuff and such. Very interesting.

I'm an idiot ... I forgot to close the inventory period for the week so inventory is all wacky ... grr!

I hope tomorrow's (today's) staff is good. That's all there is to that.

I watched Ladykillers tonight with Jared and Melissa. Melissa fell asleep and Jared didn't like it much ... I did. It was interesting and pretty funny at times. Tom Hanks definitely spoke with big words though so it was difficult to understand him but I managed.

I'm really nervous for Monday now. You have no idea. I've developed a bit of a muscle twitch under my chin. It's really cool except not at all.

I did t ... huh, I forgot what I was going to say. I got IMed and poof, gone. I know I was going to "think" something but I can't remember what it was now. Welp, I'm sure it wasn't important.

Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? I know I've often wondered what it is. There are times that I think my purpose is to make others smile. To try my best to be silly, joke around ... anything to make people smile even when they are having a bad day. One example that I consider a "highlight" in my life was in 10th grade. I was in my "infamous" bio class with Laura, Kelly P, Becky W, and others. Becky W was what she called "depressed" because her uncle, who she was close to, had passed away days earlier. Naturally, this was an unhappy time for her and she was finding it very hard to impossible to smile. Well we all consoled her for a bit while attempting to do our school work. My teacher, Mr. T Koch, began writing on the board and I began attempting to read it phonetically as he was writing it. For whatever reason, it was hilarious to the others in my group and Becky began to laugh then yelling at me because she was supposed to be upset. I felt good knowing I was able to brighten her day and help her out of her depressive state.

There are other times when I feel purpose has to be something deeper than that. Making people laugh is a good tool but there is more to it all. This is why I'm becoming a teacher. It seems to me that it is really important for students to learn ... for them to grow and florish and become the next teachers or doctors or whatever it is they wish to be. I hope to help them reach that goal and walk away with a greater knowledge than when they entered my classroom.

Believe it or not, all these thoughts tie together. In one book I was reading, it suggests that you should not use too much humor in the classroom. They believe using humor will cause your students to regard you as an entertainer rather than a teacher. I must say that I disagree with that concept. It is true that students cannot see you as ONLY an entertainer. If that were the case, I'd be a stand-up comic, not a teacher. However, I do not believe you have to hinder your natural flow (in my case, humor) when it can be used to advantage. There is no reason that you cannot use humor in the classroom all the while helping them remember facts about war, peace ... any time in history really. I think it only makes sense that if you can get it to stick in their heads through a joke or humorous reference, it should be done. Doesn't that make sense? I think it does. A normal lecture can be boring and dull. Spice it up a little and they'll remember the joke associated with a key point. They'll know that information come test time and hopefully even beyond that point all because you gave a point of reference for them to recall it in the brain. All the while, they are happier while in the classroom. Being happy stimulates the brain further and makes them WANT to come to class. This sounds amazing, doesn't it? I think it makes perfect sense and anyone who believes we should tame ourselves while educating students is not thinking correctly (in my opinion). Entertain the masses, and they will remember what you've said for eternity. If Robin Williams were a teacher, do you think I'd remember my verbs and nouns better? You better believe it!

Well, I'm sure no one has read all of this anyway but I was able to get it down and it all makes sense to me. 20 minutes of writing and it is now time for me to get to sleep. After all, I have to get up for church and then for work after all. Have a pleasant evening.