Being tested...

About a week ago I was reading in Proverbs and came across Ps 139:23. It says
"Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts." I then asked God to test me. How often do I ask to be tested? My prayers are usually something like this "Dear God, help me to have a great day. Be with Steven as he's at work. Watch over him and my family, etc., etc., etc." I don't ask very often to be tested but when I did, God brought it!
It was the first week of school which is always extremely tiring. Especially when it's a full 5 day week. It consists of teaching the students the rules and procedures of your classroom and the school if they're new, doing lots of getting to know you activities, no breaks throughout the day because there are no resources the first week, and lots of extra time spent after school discussing curriculum with team members. I'm exhausted every day I come home and as you can probably guess extremely tired by the end of the week. Not only is it a tough first week for everyone I felt extra pressure with my class and curriculum.
My principal called me this summer and wanted to know if I'd like to teach a 2nd/3rd grade combination class. She said there were a lot of very bright 2nd grade students and I would basically be teaching 3rd grade curriculum throughout the year. I thought it sounded like a good idea. I've never had a class with all bright students so I thought it would be a change. I usually have one or two IEP's or EC students in my classroom who need extra help and resources to grasp the curriculum. But later I find out I can't teach just 3rd grade curriculum because these 2nd grade students aren't set on going to another combination classroom next year to learn 4th grade material. So then I'm told I will be doing thematic units. This sounds like a great idea to my principal but for someone who has taught 3 years at the same school where you shared lesson plans and everything was done by the book it seemed like a big undertaking to me. I didn't even know where to start! How was I going to be sure I would cover all the standards needed? How would I know it would be on a grade appropriate level for my students? How would I find the time to plan all of this? So I went to my principal with my concerns and she stated that it might not be happening anyway because there were more 2nd grade parents that wanted their students in my class and 3rd grade parents who wanted their students out. The 3rd grade parents didn't think it would be accelerated enough for their children. Which is understandable because the 3rd graders are smarties too. So then I was told I would do a 2nd grade AG or gifted class but still teach on themes. Now, as you may have noticed before that was my main concern on teaching these kids. I didn't know how to make themes. I'd done a few in college but that was 4 years ago and it's not like it was really all that good. So I asked my principal if I could just teach the 2nd grade regular curriculum at a faster pace and then use themes and accelerated materials at the end of each 9 weeks. She said it sounded like a good idea. So the plan was to give my 3rd graders to the other 3rd grade teachers and gain a few 2nd grades from the 2nd grade teachers. That's how it was left yesterday afternoon.
But wouldn't you know, my ADD principal (and I mean that in the kindest way, I really do love her!) tells me this morning that we're sticking with my classroom the way it is and themes! *sigh* What's a girl to do? It doesn't seem like anything is stationary. It's all up the air all the time, my job, Steven's job, etc. So my principal and I talked after school and together we're going to do our first theme on the Beijing Olympics This begins in 2 weeks. And you might ask what do we have planned? Nothing so far! So here it goes. I'm sure it will all work out. I asked to be tested and I am definitely being tested. I never thought it would be with my job. It's usually with the Army but it's always in God's hands. I just have to keep the faith and know that things will work out! How about you? Have you ever asked God to test you?

Speaking of Steven's job. He's almost 100% sure that he will deploy to Iraq at the end of November for a year. Now being 100% sure in the Army is about 75% sure in civilian life but right now that's what we're planning for.