in a month's time...

jeez. what an awesome month its been for me... got a long-term subbing job at harvest park for a class of special needs kids. the teacher is really awesome and the 5 other aides that i work with are pretty cool too. but the kids are the best part. there are 12 students and their disabilities are ranged anywhere between mild and severe. when i first started subbing in this class i had no idea how to approach the kids because the teacher didn't really tell me about each student or explain much. she told me which kids got violent sometimes but other than that i pretty much had to figure it out for myself. i really didn't think that it was possible to get to know these kids as well as i feel i do after only a few weeks of working... seriously, though. and being able to put a smile on their face or make them laugh or teach them something- man, its amazing. I really can't describe the passion that i seem to have discovered for teaching... its weird, really, because i never imagined that i'd be a good teacher. the sad part is that the lady i'm subbing for could be returning to work right after thanksgiving. she hurt her hand while she was working (i guess a kid fell on it and broke it or something..) and she's had some surgery done on it but she still cant use it very well. i confess that i am secretly hoping that her hand stays messed up so i can take over this job. shit, i am SUCH an evil person...ha ha ha. seriously though, i'll be pretty bummed if i have to leave this job but, alas, what a wonderful experience this has been for me : )