A Week full of Lessons :)

‎"To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must first practice, to practice you must first learn, and to learn you must first fail."

This week- I have learned so much in such a short period of time. As my classroom has past the "honeymoon period" we are now entering the stretch where classroom management becomes vital for the remainder of the year. I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet with a woman named Karen who is from the district school board. Her job is to help me create a plan for myself on how, over the course of the year, I can become the best teacher I can be. While I first thought that she would come in and tell me how terrible of a job I was doing, meeting her ended up being like a breath of fresh air! 

After she observed my classroom we had a meeting where she started off by asking me, "what are some things that you think you do well as a teacher?".....I sat for a minuite and listed off a few things.....patient, genuine, prepare, honest, relatable etc....and she said "what else?" ....after a few seconds........I responded with..."to be honest, I dont find myself sitting down thinking about myself or how i'm doing, i'm busy worrying about the kids and what they need." She replied with "I can tell you a lot of things you are great at...." She started listing things..."i've never seen anyone on their toes like you....you are so well prepared.....you care about these kids so much and its so obvious how much you care and want them to do well"........hearing her say that really made me emotional. I usually have a hard time explaining things that i'm passionate about and hearing her acknowledge that I care so much and am giving this job my 100% really made me have a loss for words. With tears in my eyes I explained to her how hard it can be sometimes and how much it helps to have someone acknowledge my strengths. 

All too often I beat myself up for things not going well, or students not working to their full potential. She reassured me that my heart is int he right place and that i'm so close to having the students exactly where I want them. For the most part, they care about me, and with a few changes in my daily instruction (having a symbol for being quiet, a non-verbal system for controlling behaviour) I will be able to create a safe and positive environment for everyone.

I find myself so fortunate to have the opportunity to create a growth plan and have the support that I do. At the end of the day, Karen came into my classroom and said- "I'm not worried about you for a second- you have some challenges to overcome but by the end of this year- this is going to make you an unstoppable teacher......you have such a challenging class, but you won't let them win- its not in your nature." I found it amazing that after meeting me for one day, and watching me teach for 20 minutes, she was able to observe all of that. She knows how much I love my job, and my students and is going to give me the tools to create an amazing classroom! 

I am so excited. Despite the emotions, tears, and changes that are coming ahead. I am so excited! I have no doubt that this is going to be an amazing year- I love those kids with everything in me and these 2 months have already changed me as a person and educator!!