The Six Phases of Teaching

Phase 1

You are listening to jazz
Your first day at work is great.
Your co-workers are wonderful, the students are great, your classroom is cute, and your principal is the best!

Phase 2

You are listening to pop music
After a while you are so busy that you are not sure if you’re coming or going anymore.

Phase 3

You are listening to heavy metal
This is what you feel like at the end of the quarter/month.

Phase 4

You are listening to hip hop
You become bloated due to stress, feel sluggish and suffer from constipation.
Your coworkers are too cheerful for your liking and the walls of your classroom are closing in. The students seem to be out to get you.
You have started thinking “WHATEVER” about your principal.

Phase 5

You are listening to GANGSTA RAP
After more time passes, your eyes start to twitch, you forget what a “good hair day”
feels like as you just fall out of bed and load up on caffeine.

Phase 6

You are listening to the voices in your head
You have built a makeshift fortress of books and paper around your desk to keep people out,
you have a dartboard with your favorite student’s picture on it in your classroom, and
you wonder why you are even here in the first place.