Every school year has ups and downs. A few months back I hit a pretty hard down. I spoke with my teaching mentor who put some things in perspective. I told them I felt like the kids weren't getting as much as I wanted to give. That I wasn't having these amazing five star lessons like others in the building who have been teaching for awhile. I told them that I felt like I couldn't please everyone. It was just such a downer feeling.
My mentor stopped me and said the best thing I think I could have heard at that moment, "That's crap."
I stood there stunned before I plopped down into my chair and stared at them. "What?" I asked.
"That's crap." I won't attempt to quote them word for word for the rest but in essence they told me that it was the crappy part of winter when everyone is bummed out, including parents and kids and that veteran teachers offer a different style just like new teachers. They said that my kiddos were just getting something
different, not worse.
That got me thinking. If I'm only seeing negative things, maybe it's time that I looked for somethings I love doing and that I'm glad I do. So, I sat down, made a short list, and here it is!
1) Post-it Note Journals
I try to have the kiddos write in their journals three mornings a week. When they walk in, their journals are lined up on the floor and they grab them and head to their desk to write. First let me explain why I line them up on the floor. I'm a bit lazy. I hate trying to find their desks. We switch desks once a month and I can get their placement down within a day or so but if I can save some time, why not? But back to the post-its. When I asked the kiddos to finish their last sentence for the morning, they place a post-it note at the top of their page. This makes it easier for me to find their latest entry. I then use the post-it to give them one compliment and one question or suggestion. The students sometimes go back and change things about their writing or implement the changes in their next piece. Some teachers want their students to make the changes to that piece of writing but I have a different view. If you're an author and your story is just not working out, why waste a bunch of time trying to fix it? I think you are better served taking the good parts from what you just wrote and good suggestions you've been given, and then working on something you're interested in.
I'm also glad I read each journal entry because then I get to see little gems like this one:
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| It reads, "P.S. I know a lot about birds." |
2) Paper Subject Organization
I have a pretty organized classroom. I'm actually a little too proud of that fact. Now don't think all areas of my life are meticulously organized (
don't look in my closet...) but my classroom stays clean and put together. One way I do this is to keep my own stuff organized. At the beginning of the year, I had these bins organized by day but it wasn't working. Days just change too often so instead, I started organizing handouts, tests, lessons, and papers by subject. On Monday mornings, when I do a majority of my copying, I organize all the stuff for the week. It's great because if something changes (like it always does) I have everything I need to change the plan.
3) Door Decorations
I've previously shown this door dec and my other ones. I. LOVE. DOOR. DECORATIONS. It's so much fun to put up a door dec after school and hear the cute little giggles when the kids discover it in the morning. I have so much fun doing them as well. It gives me a chance to be creative and a lot of times, I do it at home in front of the TV and it relaxes me.
I'll leave it at those three for now but it's a great reminder to myself to just be happy with the hard work I do. I hope it reminds you to think about your teaching as well! If you're feeling down, think about the good things going on in your classroom!
Teaching Kati Lesson: You won't always be happy with how things are going but you should take a chance to appreciate the good going on in your classroom. I bet there is a lot of amazing things happening.
Byeeeeeeeeeee!
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