That's right! Its official...as of August 15th, you can officially refer to me as, "Mrs. Lisk, First Grade Teacher!"
AND, now my students don't have to struggle with trying to pronounce Venneri and say cute things like "Miss Vanilla" and "Miss Vuh...Vuh...Vehh...ummmm....how do you say it?" Ah, the days of student teaching :)
A [kind of] short back story to how I got to this point:
I graduated from Biola University (B-IO-LA!) in Elementary Ed and got my credential right after. I was a little burnt out and hated seeing old, bitter teachers who yelled all the time at their students. I didn't want to be that...at all!
You know, like Viola Swamp in Miss Nelson is Missing?!
(That's teacher humor for you, in case you didn't know)
PS. A real life Viola Swamp? Creeptastic!
Anyway, I didn't want to be burnt out and grouchy and lame. The kids know you dont want to be there, you know you don't want to be there and both parties end up losing. Unfortunately, the kids are the ones who lose out the most!
So, fresh out of my credentialing program amidst a sea of teaching applications and an awful economy to search for a teaching job, I was offered to work for the corporate office of a restaurant. 2 1/2 years later, I felt God gently leading me back toward teaching but I was too afraid to make the leap fully. So, I quit my job and took 3 different temporary jobs at ROCKHARBOR (one after another) and felt God continuing to nudge me toward teaching. This time, it was practically smacking me in the face!
Ryan had an awesome contact and I sent my resume to her thinking there wouldn't be much that came of it since teaching jobs were hard to come by in this economy...especially with no classroom experience and being 3 years removed from my credentialling program.
But then, I got a nibble. The Monday before my wedding, I went in for a "getting to know you" meeting/interview with a school staff. Amongst the interview committee; the head pastor of the church, the principal, the preschool director, the second grade teacher and a mom who's child was going to be a 1st grader in the fall. When I left, I thought nothing much would come of it and was thankful for the opportunity to have experience interviewing.
Wednesday before my wedding (on Sunday) I got a call...they offered me the job! I was honestly shocked and very flattered. Needless to say, I got married, went on a little 2 day get away after my wedding and had some time to think and pray about it. I had some interesting conversations and really thought I wasn't going to take the job until I met with the principal. I literally went in his office thinking, "I'll ask him some questions for a better understanding, but I think I'm going to say no." When I came out of his office, the posture of my heart had changed.
I honestly think God changed my heart, opened my eyes to ministry and teaching opportunity that I hadn't seen before and made me excited to think of the possibility this job offered.
All that to say, I accepted the job and couldn't be more thrilled about it!
A week passed and I was preparing to go on my honeymoon the following week. I had an opportunity to meet my class and their parents at their last chapel of the 2010-2011 school year. So fun! I will be teaching a class of 11 boys and 3 girls (so far). Sounds like a blast to me! Even just the class size alone is a miracle, compared to most public schools right now with 20-30 kids per class!
There is so much to be thankful for. But today, my heart leaps with joy and thankfulness that the Lord would provide a way for me to use my passion and gifting in the way He created me to.
In true Families Ministry Staff form, it feels only fitting to sing:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
AMEN!
