Why Teachers Make Good Friends

I have been blessed with wonderful co-teachers at every school I have ever worked. I'm not  sure if that's an odd thing and I'm just hitting the jackpot every time, or, and I think this is more likely, many times good teachers have the same qualities that make good friends. (By no means am I downing any other profession, just speaking of the one I have experience in. ;) Some of these great qualities that translate into friendship are:

They are good multi-taskers: In the classroom this is imperative for maximizing learning time. In friendship, it means that while you are busy with school during the day, you still have time to plan for an evening or weekend with friends.

They are good at gauging internal conflict: Students come to school every day carrying their home lives with them. Sometimes that is a supportive emotional structure that encourages learning in the classroom. Many times it isn't and, even the best students have off days. In order to capture a child's interest in a subject, you have to first have their confidence that you have created a safe place. They need to feel emotionally safe before they can engage mentally. This constant gauging of emotions in the classroom hones a teachers' skill at perceiving when something is going on with a friend as well.

A good teacher is also a good listener. Listening for feedback and proof of understanding in the classroom is another thing that is put into practice in a friendship as well.

There are so many other things that apply- like compassion, being young at heart, being flexible, and knowing how to connect with many different types of people. There are so many things we learn from each other, it is good to be surrounded by people who encourage me by their example in all of these areas every day.

There's nothing like loving the people you get to work with!

Seen Around Los Cabos: 1

This beautiful horse carried his rider alongside four lanes of traffic.

Loreto to San Jose del Cabo, Texas to Cabo Trip, Part 7

From Loreto to San Jose del Cabo seemed to be the longest part of the trip, but only because we had come so far and it was the last stretch and we could almost see being at our destination finally happening! We left beautiful Loreto and drove through a few more mountains before reaching La Paz. 

There, (at a Burger King with a play place, yay!) Ben called the director of the school to see which way would be better: the road from La Paz going east seemed shorter than the road to the west. We learned that the road to the east went through mountains and was only a one lane road but the road to the west was a comfortable two lane... so that's the one we took this time. Going from Cabo San Lucas to San Jose del Cabo was the most suspenseful part: We were so close, but construction was slowing everything down. The beautiful views compensated for this. 

Arriving in San Jose, the one way roads threw us off a few times, but we eventually found the school. We were overwhelmed with how thoughtful everyone was and how prepared they were for our family's arrival.

I'm very thankful for this trip to be over and to have arrived here without mishaps: no blowouts, no children sick, no confiscations, and our destination was full of people who are wonderful to work with!