Disclaimer--"better" in no way implies "good."
Four main things are helping me to make strides in the right direction. I really believe that all 4 of these things are leading my students to achieve more and more each day.
1. Balance. Trying to take care of myself, and spend less than 12 hours at school every day. Leaving more school stuff at school. I bought a bike! I went backpacking last weekend!
2. Organization. I've figured out some systems that actually work for me and my students that are reducing the crazy hurricane of papers in my room...thereby reducing my stress level.
3. Smaller Classes. We got a new teacher at semester, so our class sizes are more normal. This has helped in a myriad of ways. The most notable is that there are few enough kids in my classroom at any given time that I can begin to see their individual needs. Next step: actually address their needs. A big part of this has been to shift my mindset from thinking that my trouble students had behavior issues to realizing (with the help of my PD) that they are so far behind that they don't understand my instruction. It is better to be rebellious than to be labeled stupid. It turns out that I need to break things down MUCH farther for some of my classes and not rush things so much.
4. Differentiation. This is directly tied to number 3. Break things down for the kids that need it, provide extension work for the kids who are bored. Now I am better able to do this because I am not so overwhelmed by simply teaching the same thing to everyone.
I feel like something has clicked. I may actually be on my way to becoming competent. Let's not count any chickens just yet...
I still miss my friends and family in Oregon immensely. I wish more of you could come and visit and that everyone could spend at least one day with me and my kiddos in my classroom. It is such a funny place and they are so hilariously wonderful (and sometimes terrible). I really do count my blessings for getting to work with them. I only wish I was better and more each day to be able to give them what they need.
30 years
11 years ago
2 comments:
How incredibly wise of you to recognize that there are things you can change and improve on, and to be WANTING to do that for your students. I think many a teacher casually blames the student without realizing that learning is a two-way deal, and while the students must work a whole lot, the instructor also has quite a job. I'm sooo glad you can feel some progress. And I'm so proud of you!! We miss you in Oregon.
I think both bullets 1 and 2 can apply to nearly everyone striving to do better at anything. Introspection is a fabulous concept... Thank you for #2. I'll have to work on that, too! Love you!
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