one job, three persons

I have a strong recollection of thinking my first year of teaching that I needed two other people in my classroom full time in order to do my job properly and to its fullest extent. First, I needed a bouncer to manage the discipline and stand next to troublesome children with muscles bulging and face glaring to keep them in line. Second, I needed a secretary to make sure all the papers got passed out, taken up, forms filled out, filed, and turned in properly (and maybe to help out with a little grading). With the help of these two capable yet imaginary individuals, I could do the fun part: teaching! Oh to focus all of my attention on academics. . . (sigh). . .

But I can honestly say after completing four years in the classroom, that I enjoy the "training" aspect of my job because it implies that education is more than books and writing; "education is a life" (one of Charlotte Mason's four pillars of education). By spending the time to teach and train children in every aspect of their lives and behavior, I get to take part in a much more complex and developed picture--the picture of a person growing not just a brain. So yes, I am my own bouncer and I kind of like it. But I could still use a secretary.