1. If you don't show up for a college class, it usually doesn't affect many people beyond yourself. If you don't show up for school in the morning, there will be hell to pay: angry administrators, unprepared subs, explosive students.
2. If you ask for an extension on a college paper or project, most professors will probably give it to you if they find you charming or you have a good reason. You can't ask for extensions on lesson plans; they have to be ready unless you want to stare blankly at your children and watch them quickly spiral out of control.
3. In college, you might be able to get away with never waking before noon and staying up until 3AM or later. Teachers wake up before 7AM daily for school, and usually by 9AM even on non-school days. Bedtime by 11PM is ideal.
4. College students can pull all-nighters to finish a paper or hang with friends. As a teacher, erratic sleep schedules and late nights will make you a zombie, which is not something you want to be with 18 first graders clamoring for your attention. Routines are your friend.
5. Wearing sweats to college classes is totally within the range of normal. Wearing sweats as a teacher is totally unacceptable, except on PJ day. Gotta class it up.
6. Unprepared for class? Just lay low, avoid eye contact with the prof, and doodle around on your notes or laptop. There is no under-the-radar when you're a teacher. You ARE the radar.
7. The minutiae of your friends' personal drama can take up oodles of your time. So can the personal drama of the girls in your first grade class. Oh wait, that one's not so different.
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Currently reading: Teaching Children to Care
Current high: nice dinner with the roomie tonight :)
Current low: late late work shifts last night and tonight...sleeeeeepy days! Also forgot my guided reading group planning sheets and All About book at school, d'oh.
This was excellent. I think you have a possible book with these as chapter themes. Just saying. I'd read it.
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