Time is short

As March is coming to an end we are looking at the last two months of the school year. These are the months filled with standardized tests, field trips, parent conferences, year end activities like field day, school carnivals and promotion ceremonies. It’s the time of year that we earn our golden star for our successes of the year. And, it’s also the time you feel the most stress and exhaustion.

Take 10 minutes this week driving home with no music on or at home and think of two goals you had for the school year. Did you have a goal for classroom management, student engagement, lesson planning, or differentiation? You probably had a million goals back in August, I know I always did, but only think of the two that you are closest to achieving. Now spend the next two months working on those goals to earn your gold star. The gold star may not show up on your desk, it may not be in an email, but you can accomplish it. 

I spent the first few years of teaching wondering if I was a good teacher. Are my students retaining anything I have taught them this year?  You may be thinking, how will I know I met my goals? 

                                            Photo by Pragyan Bezbaruah from Pexels

5 ways you know you are 

reaching your students

1. Attendance in your class is close to 100% daily. The holidays are over and most aren't sick anymore, so students are more likely to come daily to be with their wonderful teacher rather than stay at home.
2. Answers to questions are more thought out now. Remember right before Christmas break when students were still shouting out answers that didn’t even make sense. Students are finally taking a deep breath before answering and are trying their hardest to use everything you’ve taught them.
3. Routines are finally evident! Just stand in the back of the room for a minute and watch how they switch workstations with the sound of the chime. Or watch what happens when your class comes in the morning. Did they do their morning rituals the way you always dreamed about back in August!
4. Adults comments this time of year from parents and substitutes can give you a great insight into your year. I often had parents at field trips or end of year activities say, “ the kids do everything you ask them, they know all your expectations. How do you do it?" How many times have you heard a substitute talk to you at recess and say your class line looks great! How do you do it?" If they only knew how the first six weeks were. How we practiced routines over and over just so we can watch our class run like a well oiled machine in March. 
5. Student comments are the best award. When students start saying they don’t want to go to the next grade because your the best. We are so stressed this time of year that when kids would say out of nowhere they were going to miss me I knew that no matter how hard it was to get up in the morning I had to for them.  

The feeling this time of year is mixed, but the light at the end of the tunnel is near. Take a deep breathe and enjoy the end of the school year because it only happens once!

How I built my "tool box"

I am starting this blog because after 21 years of teaching my "tool box" is very full. That is, it is full of how I made awesome lessons, lessons that made me feel like the worst teacher in the world, students that challenged me to know end and tools of how to make it from August to June. I have taught mostly in a Title I school. I never had the class full of Gifted and Talented (GT) students. I never had the best behaved class in the district. Being a teacher at a Title I school pulled at my heart strings and made me think out of the box daily.

This past school year I was faced with the unthinkable. I had to take a medical retirement. It still hurts even to type it. I am 44 years old and I am "retired." I was given a second chance at life due to my liver transplant in November 2018. It truly was a blessing beyond words. With that my husband, sister and dear friends continue to teach. They continue to stress over lesson plans, meetings, making time to eat lunch and when is the next holiday. For 8 months I have listened to the ups and downs of their school year. I listen to my husbands middle school drama daily. He asks my advice on how I would approach his classroom questions. After several dinners that ended with his school questions he said, "Why don't you write a book about all the things you know about teaching?" I thought to myself, I do like to write, but I don't want to write a book that sits on the shelf or in boxes like my professional books were. I want to answer questions for people that I was too proud to ask about because I am a teacher and the kids think I know everything, right? Well we don't. College prepares us with knowledge, but 7:45-3:05 prepares us for changing lives.

Many of us see these memes pop up on your social media or get a text from a colleague Sunday night before Spring Break is over. This is a reminder that the expectations are to begin at 7:45, business as usual. The reality is that doesn't happen. Remember it takes 6 weeks to form a habit and for kids it takes one day at home to forget the training from school. It is the reality so be prepared to teach where you can but above all things just listen to them. Honestly they truly missed your routine!