i wasn't dwelling on it at the time, but the past nine weeks had to have been the most challenging of my life thus far. it makes sense. i had to adjust to an entirely new environment: the Southwest; live in a city with over 50k inhabitants for the first time: Phoenix (the sixth most-populous city in the U.S.); move in with new roommates: (Tom and Jon); start a job i had no training for: middle school teacher?!; teach a subject i had little training in: history (ancient AND medieval), and add in all the responsibilities of a head football coach from day one.
being challenged is good. i welcome it, and i recognize it could have been MUCH more difficult, like trying to do all that and not have a core group of friends nearby for support. and to be honest, i would not have even attempted any of this without them.
sometimes i think the things i do are simply because i want to see what it would take to break me down. i'm addicted to the thrill of pushing my limits. i love the process of trying something new, figuring it out, and then doing my best to master it.
the problem is that with more quantity, quality can suffer. the perspective changes more when my adventures affect other people. would i be a better teacher if i wasn't coaching football? it's very probable. would the football team be much worse off with the next-best option at head coach? entirely possible. so, what's the answer? it depends. isn't that always the answer?
i staggered to the finish line of the first quarter. i was working more hours and getting less sleep than my worst semester at Hillsdale, and i really struggled down the home stretch. one thing you don't realize about being a student is that it's relatively passive. you can power down, operate at 60 percent capacity, and be fine. zone out during class and the world doesn't end. teaching is 100 percent all the time, and coaching is the same way. it's almost like a performance. it's exhausting.
so, i hit a wall. i barely made it. all the time while i was figuring out ways to cut down on my workload, the loss of sleep had been building up. the worst part might have been getting up before 7 a.m. on Saturdays in order to make it to my 9 a.m. games. when the bell rang for my last period that last Friday, i just left. there were abandoned stacks of papers on my desk, and open books from the day's lesson plans. i didn't say goodbye.
flying to Michigan for Hillsdale's homecoming was the best medicine i could have asked for, although it also served to highlight the stark contrast from my life a year ago. how could anything be so incredibly familiar and freeing while being so incredibly detached and distant? this homecoming was the only experience i've had that was weird for the sole reason of not being weird. every second.
i was clinging to my last taste of Hillsdale as i got on the plane to fly back. my thoughts were torn, i didn't know how to summarize what i was feeling.. then, i looked at the woman next to me, who was reading. it was a book entitled "A Rather Remarkable Homecoming." well, that works.
the second quarter is now under way. i have big plans to be a better teacher. i also have plans to do things like sleep, maybe even exercise. how do you raise productivity with a fixed amount of labor inputs (1 worker) and a fixed amount of time (24 hours)? increase efficiency! i have to take everything i've learned since August, and put it all together. the next step of the challenge.
my football team has the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. remember my post about losing to Chandler Prep? no? well, we play them on Saturday. if we win, the championship is the next week. either way, football will be over within the next two weeks! think of all the activities i can do with my extra time!
like..coach the JH soccer team? sure, why not?
i vote for more sleep. glad you had a great homecoming. :)
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