After sitting at the helm of my wonderfully eclectic and personified desk for just about 4 months, I can confidently say that I have the most rewarding job ever. Something in me clicked about a week ago as I prepared for a mind-numbing week of midterms. (I've been grading nonstop for the past few days, and I am completely shocked that I am still capable of threading together coherent thoughts ... so far. I guess we'll see by the end of this blurb.) I realized just how fun - for a lack of a better term - it is to strut around my classroom and watch those little lightbulbs flicker.

Over the past few weeks, I've watched many a lightbulb switch on during my various classes that I felt it necessary to share a few of those moments that make me love my profession. Let us begin with my daily doses of grammar.

Recently, I decided to begin each and every class with a grammar conundrum. You see, as an educator, I struggle with finding the right time to teach grammar concepts; however, a coworker sparked my creative genius not too long ago, and now I have discovered the perfect way to engage my students in English class.

When I grace the halls at 7:00 a.m. and struggle to open my classroom door without spilling my coffee, (now that would be starting my day on the wrong foot) I oftentimes craft ridiculous sentences with many a misconstrued grammatical concept for all of my students to correct. While it may pain my soul to watch the red and blue lines appear on my screen as spellcheck catches every single mistake, the reward of seeing the excitement and eagerness of my students as their hands race into the air to get the opportunity to write on the Smartboard is well worth it.

These moments - our daily doses of grammar - are my favorite moments because it is that type of formative assessment that shows me those little light bulb moments when my students make those connections that educators drive students to make on their own. This has now become our routine, and I'll never forget just how fun it is to watch students do the mental math in their heads to figure out which number on the roster to pick that will force their friends to go up to the board. I'll always remember the way kids will argue you to the death about your awkward phrasing of a sentence and the persistence they show in trying to correct you even though you're right and they're wrong. Long live daily doses of grammar.

While I think I can confidently say that I have taught my students to love grammar, there are still moments that might outweigh those little bell ringers. Let's take my Drama class for instance ...

I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to end my day with a giant helping of creativity. I tasked my first semester Drama students with what at first appeared to be the overzealous task of writing an original One-Act play; however, they finished their script this week. When I started this job, I had no idea how to even approach teaching Drama. All I knew was that I wanted my students to come out of that class with a finished product. Even though this semester went awry, they exceeded my expectations and will hopefully perform their play in the next few weeks. I couldn't be more proud of their patience with me and their levels of creativity that blew me away as I played stenographer while they improvised their entire play. That's right, ladies and gents. My 8 Drama students improvised an entire One-Act play in a few weeks, and I cannot wait for their interpretation of characterization, set design, and lighting to bring their storyline to life.

Drama may outweigh my grammar conundrums, but I think the most recent instance to take the cake on the most significant lightbulb moment would be those moments that occur when tutoring. Recently, I worked with a student on outlining essays. This was a challenge for me -and I imagine any educator- because I felt as if I had exhausted my vernacular. It appeared that I couldn't find the right way to explain outlining a paper to a student. And then the student made a connection to hypotheses in science class, and we ran with it. If this student had never met with me or expressed confusion regarding the concepts I was teaching, I'm not sure I ever would have found the right way to teach this student specifically. I personally had the opportunity to watch the lightbulb flicker on throughout our various meetings, and that was such a joy.

I learned just how different each of my students are. I figured out a new style of teaching a concept I know like the back of my hand. I grew in my profession. I may be a teacher, but I learn more each and every day, which is why my job is such a fulfilling vocation.

I leave my classroom every day with more stories and laughs than any part-time stint I've had since I'm 17-years-old. I love that I have students who make my job worth it, because without their interactions, my job would be boring. I teach for their success, and they teach me how to laugh at myself, how to laugh with them, and how to accurately comprehend the "hip" lingo they try to pawn off as acceptable vocabulary sentences.

As always, coffee has continuously gotten me through this semester, as well as those wonderful people in my life who are constantly by my side to laugh and enjoy my job with me. And yes, that includes my coworkers. Oh, how they also make work so much more enjoyable. From secret Santa antics to free period rants where we let out spurts of frustration before jumping right back into our classroom routines, I'll always cherish these moments throughout the year. Until next time ...