Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Fourth Grade is an interesting beast. If you don't say something just right, they won't listen and if you say it with the wrong tone, they'll laugh at you. These are all the things I found out in my first few weeks of co-teaching fourth grade. Now don't worry, things have gotten a lot better since then. You see, my Cooperating Teacher is magic. Have you ever tried learning magic? If you have, you know it doesn't come easily at first. It takes practice... lots and lots of practice. If I had a dollar for every time a fellow teacher said, "It just takes time...." well, I'd be making more than I make teaching. I get it. Keep working and the magic will come. The trouble is, I want to have all the magic right this second. I don't want to wait around! I am working hard to learn the tricks of the trade. No power struggles on my watch. Magic is hard to learn but I am learning it and that is enough to put a smile on my face.

All in all, fourth grade has been pretty amazing. Do I still want to teach Kindergarten, ABSOLUTELY. But, for now, I'll take my -in desperate need of deodorant- kiddos. Teaching an upper grade has been a wonderful challenge that is teaching me so many skills that are going to help me be an amazing teacher. Thank you to all of you who have never stopped believing in me and who have helped me get to where I am. I hope to inspire at least one person in my journey and help a kid or two along the way. The hard work is worth it.

Stay strong and keep moving forward.

Tim

The Honest Truth

During my last few semesters of undergrad, I met two incredible friends. Over time and and lots of difficult exams, we became great friends. Each of us were very different, but we got along despite that. One difference I want to focus on is our religious views. While I am Christian, another was Jewish, and the other was atheist. We never put each other down because we disagreed with each other, in fact we had engaging conversation about why the other believed what they did. We're all still great friends today.

The reason I tell you this story is to show the fact that people can be different and still be the best of friends. All it takes is respect and the ability to put your differences aside. My friends and I were not trying to get each other to change religions or saying the other was wrong. In fact, we wanted to learn more about each other's views. Embracing each other's differences only strengthened our friendship.

Like my friends and our differences in religion, I may be different than you. I'm gay. Some of you might be shocked and some of you might be thinking, it's about time. Hopefully you're still with me.

I am sure some of you want an explanation. I have been trying to come to terms with this for a very long time. I have always been afraid of losing those I love due to our differences in opinion. I am at a point in my life where I have researched the subject and am comfortable with myself and my relationship with God.

I hope you are able to see I am still the individual I was before you read this post. I am still a Christian, an Educator, and an Adventurer. If you are not okay with this piece of my life, that is fine. I am not asking you to change your core beliefs. Just like my friends from school, I hope we can respect each other, put our differences aside, and continue growing our relationship.

The Beauty of Together

It is no secret that I love Disney World. Interventions have been in the works a time or two.
Give me a chance to explain myself, or at least hear me out on just one of the thousands of reasons I love Disney World so much.

Together.

Disney World brings people together. Families, friends, honeymooners... they all go to Disney World to spend time together. Together is not something we get to be a whole lot anymore. Disney allows us to forget about the stresses of reality and simply be a kid again. We can focus on what is truly important to us.

I want to take this a step further.
Disney World allows us to spend time with more than just those we know. When you enter Disney World, you enter a world full of diversity. People come from all over the world to enjoy the magic. So, not only do you get to spend time together with your loved ones, you also get to spend it together with an enormous amount of people who may be just like you or absolutely nothing like you, and what a beautiful thing that is. Let me put it this way:

At the end of the day (at whatever park you're at - I'm going to say Magic Kingdom because it's my favorite) at the Magic Kingdom, the streets become filled with people. Everyone gathers in one central location - right in front of Cinderella Castle. At this point, all people can think about is claiming the best spot to watch fireworks. Everyone is hot and tired and maybe a little grumpy. As soon as the lights dim and the music starts, something amazing happens. Every single person's attention is on the castle as Wishes begins and all their frustrations disappear. To me, this is the real magic of Disney. Watching thousands of people stand together to watch a beautiful display of fireworks set to a soundtrack that truly makes you believe all your dreams can come true.

Let me bring back that word, together. Everyone is together enjoying the magic. It doesn't matter where you come from, what race you are, what religion you are, what gender you identify with, what political party you side with, what your sexuality is, what language you speak, etc. During those 12 minutes we are one and what a beautiful thing that is. No labels, just a bunch of people enjoying the moment.

Hopefully you're still with me and you were able to understand why moments like this are important. Why keep putting each other down? If someone is different than you, that's okay. You won't change the world by being negative. Celebrate diversity and start each day with a smile. Above all, love.