Yesterday, I was not enjoying my morning. I woke up ready to turn in my gun and my badge and leave my classroom all together. Some days you just wake up not in the mood. That's not specific to teachers, but any job out there. I gave myself the pep talk and let all 25 of you reading this watch me do it. Let me tell you, it paid off. I had a great day like I hoped I would. Why? More after the jump.
1. My kids learned something - I took a step back and gave my kids a project where they could control their own learning. I pretended my classroom was a press conference and I wasn't take any questions. They had to discover the information. They had to do the heavy lifting. This is hard in a school where most of the kids can't read and comprehend the text or what they find on the internet, but the struggle is good for them and they had some fun doing it.
2. Real talk - I had an honest conversation with one of my students who I've been trying to engage all year. She doesn't do work. She has a bad attitude. She just generally upsets the teacher within my soul. She asked me why I keep coming and why I talk about her with other teachers. I told her it's because I want her to be successful and I'm trying everything for her because I know she's smart. I told her I show up because I care. The conversation went on and we talked about what teachers think about outside of the classroom: students. By the end she was crying and doing her work at the same time. I cried once I got to my car. NEVER CRY IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS. NOT EVER.
3. It had to - My classroom went from prison to paradise in a matter of hours. Misery isn't sustainable. When a day starts as bad as mine did. There's nowhere to go but up.
Happy teaching teachers! Make today a better day than yesterday.
2. Real talk - I had an honest conversation with one of my students who I've been trying to engage all year. She doesn't do work. She has a bad attitude. She just generally upsets the teacher within my soul. She asked me why I keep coming and why I talk about her with other teachers. I told her it's because I want her to be successful and I'm trying everything for her because I know she's smart. I told her I show up because I care. The conversation went on and we talked about what teachers think about outside of the classroom: students. By the end she was crying and doing her work at the same time. I cried once I got to my car. NEVER CRY IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS. NOT EVER.
3. It had to - My classroom went from prison to paradise in a matter of hours. Misery isn't sustainable. When a day starts as bad as mine did. There's nowhere to go but up.
Happy teaching teachers! Make today a better day than yesterday.
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