The first week of school has come and gone already. I have no idea how teachers manage a classroom of 25 students on their own. I felt like I was trying to split myself in two to take care of two students, and teach the class at the same time, AND I had another adult in the room. However, regardless of the mental stretch at times, being in the class to see how the first week is set up was very helpful, humbling, and rewarding.
Teaching procedures and routines to a class takes more time and patience than I thought it did. Once you think everyone has grasped walking at a level 0, silently through the hallways, you are set back yet again when someone decides to stray from the given task by literally spinning through the hallway. It takes patience, reminders, and even occasionally an "outstanding otter" award (my school's mascot is an otter) to help encourage students to do better. I am excited to see what the coming weeks are like and watching my students learn to follow expectations.
Now, I am going to pause for one second and warn you that the next part is going to be more sentimental than my other posts have been. It could be mainly because of the lack of sleep and exhaustion I am experiencing, but I can't resist from sharing and recording my thoughts on my experiences this week. What example children are to us adults!
Let me start with my dear friend Peter. For the sake of privacy, I of course changed his name, but he is nonetheless real. Peter is one of the students who always does what he is told, but the thing that impresses me the most is his sincerity. He has the type of sincerity that lacks in our world today. I have vowed to myself, and also worked extremely hard, to make sure I am always using a kind tone with children, and let me tell you that after a long day of teaching, it is HARD. Well, I was going through my normal daily tasks, feeling a little worn down, when Peter walked up to me out of the blue, tapped me on the shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said, "Ms. Tori, thank you for being so kind." In that moment, I realized that all my hard work had paid off, and that me trying to not take on the tone of most teachers with youngsters made a difference. I almost wanted to cry and it is something I will never forget.
Friday was hectic, but one of the most humbling and rewarding days I have yet to experience. A new friend joined our class. This friend doesn't look like the rest, but it is a complete sweet heart. Here is where a valuable teaching lesson, and Peter, comes into play. This morning, after my third graders met our new friend and they were completing their morning work, Peter walked up to me, and was looking down at his hands while playing with them. That is when I noticed he had tears in his eyes. He was mumbling, I could barely make out what he was saying, but he got out, "Ms. Tori, I.... I am really sorry. It was an accident...I didn't mean to." Of course, as a teacher, I thought to myself, "Oh dear, we aren't even twenty minutes into our day. What's broken, who has he hurt, etc.," but what came out of his mouth next was true sincere remorse and it shocked me. He explained to me that while he was doing his morning work, he accidentally blurted out to his table group that our new friend was ugly. He hadn't meant it, but it just came out he explained. I took him aside and we talked about how everyone is different and that you can't judge a book by its cover. He then said that he wanted to try and get to know our new friend during the day.
Why do I share these stories about Peter? It doesn't have anything to do with math, writing, or reading skills or teaching strategies, but it has everything to do with helping kids learn to be better members of society. It has to do with teaching children the social skills they need in order to say they are sorry. Today, and throughout this last week, I learned the importance of teaching children how to say, "please," "thank you," and, "I'm sorry. I learned that once a class feels like a family, learning will come easier. That once we got these social hold ups out of the way, the class moved more smoothly and everyone enjoyed each other's company regardless of the way they looked.
This is something I am truly aware of because I was homeschooled my whole life. Being able to learn in a comfortable, safe environment is what helped me flourish. Everyone needs that, and it takes conversations, time, and experiences like these to help kiddos learn how to interact appropriately with the people around them. That is what I want to take into my future classrooms from this first week of school. That no matter how tired I get, I will not talk negatively towards my students, that no matter how much other teachers talk about students negatively, I will respect and love them enough not to, and that being a family means saying, "I'm sorry," learning together, growing together, having fun together, and working to be the best we can be together.
Teaching procedures and routines to a class takes more time and patience than I thought it did. Once you think everyone has grasped walking at a level 0, silently through the hallways, you are set back yet again when someone decides to stray from the given task by literally spinning through the hallway. It takes patience, reminders, and even occasionally an "outstanding otter" award (my school's mascot is an otter) to help encourage students to do better. I am excited to see what the coming weeks are like and watching my students learn to follow expectations.
Now, I am going to pause for one second and warn you that the next part is going to be more sentimental than my other posts have been. It could be mainly because of the lack of sleep and exhaustion I am experiencing, but I can't resist from sharing and recording my thoughts on my experiences this week. What example children are to us adults!
Let me start with my dear friend Peter. For the sake of privacy, I of course changed his name, but he is nonetheless real. Peter is one of the students who always does what he is told, but the thing that impresses me the most is his sincerity. He has the type of sincerity that lacks in our world today. I have vowed to myself, and also worked extremely hard, to make sure I am always using a kind tone with children, and let me tell you that after a long day of teaching, it is HARD. Well, I was going through my normal daily tasks, feeling a little worn down, when Peter walked up to me out of the blue, tapped me on the shoulder, looked me in the eye, and said, "Ms. Tori, thank you for being so kind." In that moment, I realized that all my hard work had paid off, and that me trying to not take on the tone of most teachers with youngsters made a difference. I almost wanted to cry and it is something I will never forget.
Friday was hectic, but one of the most humbling and rewarding days I have yet to experience. A new friend joined our class. This friend doesn't look like the rest, but it is a complete sweet heart. Here is where a valuable teaching lesson, and Peter, comes into play. This morning, after my third graders met our new friend and they were completing their morning work, Peter walked up to me, and was looking down at his hands while playing with them. That is when I noticed he had tears in his eyes. He was mumbling, I could barely make out what he was saying, but he got out, "Ms. Tori, I.... I am really sorry. It was an accident...I didn't mean to." Of course, as a teacher, I thought to myself, "Oh dear, we aren't even twenty minutes into our day. What's broken, who has he hurt, etc.," but what came out of his mouth next was true sincere remorse and it shocked me. He explained to me that while he was doing his morning work, he accidentally blurted out to his table group that our new friend was ugly. He hadn't meant it, but it just came out he explained. I took him aside and we talked about how everyone is different and that you can't judge a book by its cover. He then said that he wanted to try and get to know our new friend during the day.
Why do I share these stories about Peter? It doesn't have anything to do with math, writing, or reading skills or teaching strategies, but it has everything to do with helping kids learn to be better members of society. It has to do with teaching children the social skills they need in order to say they are sorry. Today, and throughout this last week, I learned the importance of teaching children how to say, "please," "thank you," and, "I'm sorry. I learned that once a class feels like a family, learning will come easier. That once we got these social hold ups out of the way, the class moved more smoothly and everyone enjoyed each other's company regardless of the way they looked.
This is something I am truly aware of because I was homeschooled my whole life. Being able to learn in a comfortable, safe environment is what helped me flourish. Everyone needs that, and it takes conversations, time, and experiences like these to help kiddos learn how to interact appropriately with the people around them. That is what I want to take into my future classrooms from this first week of school. That no matter how tired I get, I will not talk negatively towards my students, that no matter how much other teachers talk about students negatively, I will respect and love them enough not to, and that being a family means saying, "I'm sorry," learning together, growing together, having fun together, and working to be the best we can be together.