Die Verbuchung

I observed my first class today. I lucked out and got a German teacher (I think I already said that, but just in case...) who teaches all levels of German. Today I observed his German 1 class and his German 2 class. His name is Herr Shade. When I told my Mom about him last Wednesday, her reply was, "Like brunette?" I didn't get it at first. But, I digress.

Both of his classes were fairly well behaved, though his German 2 class was a lot more interactive, with the teacher, each other, and me. One of the girls spoke Ubbi Dubbi (a made up language from a television show) and when she realized that I knew it too, she got all excited. Herr Shade noticed and asked me to introduce myself to her in Ubbi Dubbi to illustrate the language for the class. The two of us had a short conversation, then Herr Shade had me introduce myself to the class in English. It was awesome! I also got a compliment on my toenails; they're painted the colors of the German flag with the whole flag on my big toe.

The only thing I'm not liking about observing the classes is that I find myself wanting to take notes on the lesson. I catch myself thinking, "You need to write that down," but I don't, because I know if I take one note, there will be many more that follow, and that will not help me finish my notebook for education.

Speaking of which, could you pray for my stress levels regarding getting the notebook finished? I had a dream last night that my education teacher came after me with a sledgehammer because my notebook was less than perfect. The notebook is due on the 11th and I MUST have 16 observation hours. This means that I will be observing until the day before the notebook is due and probably pulling an all-nighter to get the notebook finished. I'm trying to do as much as possible as I go to make it easier on myself later. Nevertheless, I am still anxious about it and worried that I won't do well.

Herr Shade, by the way, speaks German like a native. I wish I could record his voice to show you guys. When he speaks German it is so smooth and virtually flawless. It sounds as if he uses no effort when making the most difficult sounds and letter combinations. He's amazing. And I haven't even observed the AP classes yet!

I am dying to take German classes. I want to learn it so badly! There's only so much that one can teach themselves, especially with language. On fire is a tiny bit too strong, but it's the closest thing to describing how much passion I have for learning the language. I only hope that I can be a translator, a good one at that, and maybe be able to be a guest speaker in a high school or something like that.

I couldn't be a teacher. I see the passion that Herr Shade and the other foreign language teachers have for not only the language they teach but for teaching as well. I see that and I know that that certain passion is not present in me. The passion for the language? Yes. The passion for wanting others to learn it? Yes. But the passion to get into the classroom and endure grueling planning sessions, long hours, working at home, and non-instructional duties just makes me turn my nose up at the whole idea. Maybe I need to go for my masters not just for fun, but so that I can be a college professor and teach in that way. I would still have to plan and work long hours, but the non-instructional duties would be fewer, at least from a student's perspective.

I had better scoot and get some more of this notebook stuff finished. Thanks for reading. I really do appreciate the advice and comments. I'll look into that German Bible, Lori. Danke schön! Gute nacht.