Give Them a Minute

It's mid-June and grades are completed but the school year trudges on. I find myself yawning at 2pm and barely finding the energy to make it through the day. But I still smile, when kids come up to me, even at moments when I'm longing for alone time, I tell myself "They need to be heard. Give them a minute." I try to be present for them, not looking at my phone, or my watch, or my computer. I listen as intently as I can and try to be present. I know that so many kids, from those that are perceived as cool and popular to those that are considered lonely and outsiders, need to be heard. I am grateful in these moments that kids can look to me as a person to talk with. Teacher and student relationships matter and it's more than a hashtag or PD buzzword. Kids are kids and may have great families and lives outside the building, or they may not. The simple act of presently listening can go far. So as I continue to walk like a zombie through the last few weeks of school, I write this as a call to remind myself the power of listening presently to be there for my students.

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My turkey ran out...

In today's edition of "kids say the darndest things", I had a student who walked into our second-period French class with only 10 minutes left in the period. I know that this student lives within walking distance. I also know this student is a great story-teller. Towards the end of the class period, while students were completing their final class activity, I went over to the late student eager to hear his excuse for today. He explained that he was late because "my turkey ran out of his cage". I was surprised and amused by this story. "So I went to the slaughterhouse on Friday to pick up a guinea fowl and a turkey" he began. "I had the turkey in a cage in my living room. This morning, my grandma woke me up and yelled 'the bird is out of its cage!' So I got up and went running around outside my house to find the turkey. Then my grandpa woke up and yelled 'what's going on here?' Then I told him about the turkey. So anyway, th...

If at first you don’t succeed

If you give students the opportunity to debate and you’ve prepared them with a wealth of resources, Will they participate successfully? Today my answer was no. I found that my best laid plans were unsuccessful. Some students were well prepared with notes while others had no idea we were doing a debate. My success rate is not particularly high with this class, but at our second attempt at a more formal class discussion I had high hopes. I’m feeling down on myself like I let them down. But I’m trying to take the unsuccessful lesson in stride and use what happened today to improve the next time. If at first you don’t succeed, revise your lesson plan.

Grateful

Today I am grateful for a snow day. I have just come back from back to back trip. The first, an amazing trip to Europe with my students, and the second a funeral. I've been jet lagged and emotional and I am grateful to have space and time to myself to rest and recharge today. Last week due to all the travel and grief, I was very stuck and felt on edge. I felt easily irritated and found myself neglecting grades in order to try to be present for my family as they grieved. I felt like a bad teacher. I often feel this difficult balance and sometimes find it difficult to be a good teacher and good friend, relative, significant other. I feel sometimes when I feel I'm doing really well as a teacher, my personal life is not as nourished and I don't feel my relationships are being well cultivated. But to the opposite, if I feel I am being a good friend/daughter/significant other, I am not necessarily a good teacher. I am so grateful to have today to pause and rest and reflect. I h...

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