Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
When I Don't Feel I've Taught Enough
I have my lesson plans laid out and my goal every day is get everything done on them. I am a list maker. I love to put a check mark by what I have completed on my to do list. It gives me a quick high. I've learned, though, through my years of teaching that it is unrealistic to finish everything on your lesson plans every day. I used to get stressed out and upset at myself on the days where nothing went as planned.
My outlook has recently changed when it comes to my lesson plans. (I am still the same about my personal day to day to do lists...I don't think that will ever go away!) Through trial and error, I have found that it is actually best for my students to decide what we complete and what we do not complete. Now I'm not saying I let them verbally have an opinion...no way. I mean that their attention span and body language help me judge now the length of the lessons. Consequently, what I wanted to teach in a day might take three days and that is ok and I can accept that. I would like to think that this new journey for me in the delivery of my lesson plans keeps me from thinking of myself only. It puts my students first.
My outlook has recently changed when it comes to my lesson plans. (I am still the same about my personal day to day to do lists...I don't think that will ever go away!) Through trial and error, I have found that it is actually best for my students to decide what we complete and what we do not complete. Now I'm not saying I let them verbally have an opinion...no way. I mean that their attention span and body language help me judge now the length of the lessons. Consequently, what I wanted to teach in a day might take three days and that is ok and I can accept that. I would like to think that this new journey for me in the delivery of my lesson plans keeps me from thinking of myself only. It puts my students first.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
What You See When You Look Inside My Classroom...
First of all...I am so sorry for not posting lately...I have been quite busy but I have missed blogging and being able to share my thoughts on teaching and the road to my new career path. I will try to get better with my blogging! With that being said....
At the end of each day I come back in from dismissal and I see a classroom where there are crayons and pencils on the floor. Bits of paper litter the entire floor under the desks. Books are all out of their crates in the book nook. Needless to say, my classroom has that lived-in look. Everyday I worry about cleaning it back up to look perfect but last week it started to dawn on me.....it is ok that my classroom isn't perfectly in order. What is important is that they had a day where they learned and were engaged in the activities. I would like to think that my students leave my classroom with more knowledge than when they had entered. The crayons, pencils, and paper littered all over the floor is a sign that they were used and I need to be grateful for that. This next week at the close of each day I want to have a different take on the day when I come back in from dismissal and see my lived-in classroom. :)
At the end of each day I come back in from dismissal and I see a classroom where there are crayons and pencils on the floor. Bits of paper litter the entire floor under the desks. Books are all out of their crates in the book nook. Needless to say, my classroom has that lived-in look. Everyday I worry about cleaning it back up to look perfect but last week it started to dawn on me.....it is ok that my classroom isn't perfectly in order. What is important is that they had a day where they learned and were engaged in the activities. I would like to think that my students leave my classroom with more knowledge than when they had entered. The crayons, pencils, and paper littered all over the floor is a sign that they were used and I need to be grateful for that. This next week at the close of each day I want to have a different take on the day when I come back in from dismissal and see my lived-in classroom. :)
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