Teams

As teachers, part of our job is teaching and encouraging children to work and play in teams, to share, to support their teammates, to consider other opinions, etc. We device different techniques to teach the children this without preaching, so we do games where they have a partner or a team, we do group work, skits and anything that strikes our creativity.

The problem is that sometimes as adults we don't really know how to work as teams and we forget that primarily children learn by role models, so we are sending mixed signals to our students we say share, delegate, divide tasks, but what we show them is far from that, I had never realized how true that is until this school year.

This year I have an actual team, this year we work well together, the children don't get mixed signals, they get people who truly support each other, who work towards the same goal with the same positive attitude and the same teaching style. I'm grateful for this.

Now, I know better.

Progress Report

I'll admit it, I hate doing them, I dread when that time comes around.

I love my children, I know them, but to me describing them in these few words is a pain, it really is, I open that file and my mind draws a blank, all of the sudden I can't remember who said or did what, who has good Pre-Writing skills or whose Social and Emotional Development is still improving.

To me, they're all awesome and I wish I could describe them in the words that come up to my mind when I think of them individually, I would say things like F is the sweetest kid around, who amazes me daily, that A.C is such an adorable girl with an amazing heart and tries really hard to be good, or how I find S a pain in the ass who I absolutely adore, because that kid is truly awesome. But none of this is (while true) is relevant and I understand why, but still, this is what comes to mind when I open that horrid file.

2 weeks.

It has been 2 weeks since the school started and it has been rollercoaster like to put it simple.

I can see the new personalities I will have to deal with, the hidden gems I'll have to polish and the challenges we will have to work on.

Now that I've met them I can set extra goals and rearrange that ones I had already set, I can see the plans working themselves out, the activities that I will need to do and how to start.

Beginning

I'm getting together my first plan of the year.

Planning and making lists, getting the new goals together.

I love the beginning of the school year; it's so full of possibilities, so many things to achieve, it’s very exciting, the ideas float on my head, the activities begin to form and I can see them happening, it’s a change to improve from what was learned the year before, to organize in better ways, to plan ahead.

Needless to say I’m more than excited to begin.

Going Back

It's almost time to go back, I miss teaching, I miss my children.

I'm excited, nervous, freaked out, happy, ready to go back, I'm still waiting to hear about which age I will teach, who I will work with and even which classroom I'll be in, this is stressful for me, it prevents me from preparing, I like to start early, it helps me develop a more accurate plan of my goals.

So while I wait I'll enjoy the wonder of where will I be and consider the different scenarios.

Vacation.

One of the perks of teaching is our vacations, not every job gets as much time off as we get.

I don't know how to handle time off, sure I enjoy sleeping more, I enjoy having my head worries free, I enjoy not having to plan (though I love planning), I enjoy the freedom, I have time to read, to discover books, music and movies. But I don't handle it well, managing it is borderline impossible to me.

There are other teachers that know how to enjoy it far better than me, they run errands, they sleep in and don't feel guilty, go on trips, get out of bed, are absolutely content with the wonders of having vacations, someday I will learn to be like them.

Even if I get anxious with the time off and feel guilty for not getting out of bed, I welcome the vacations every year, because my head needs to be away from planning, from breaking up fights, from staff meetings and all the responsibilities that the every day bring. So, while I learn how to deal with them I will just be glad and thankful that they exist.

A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia. ~Author Unknown

Blues

It has taken me quite a while to compose this post. I hate saying goodbye and I hate dealing with the end of the year, but alas here we are.

That dreadful yet wanted end of the year, it brought tears, sadness, joy, laughter, it wasn't easy.

End of the year brings a lot of changes.

For the children is the fact that you will no longer be their teacher and the adjustment that this will bring, they feel confused at times, it makes them sad and upset, sometimes angry at us, at the change, it's a perfect opportunity to do one last lesson and work on adjusting to change and the benefits of it.


For us though we understand, it's still hard, no anger, just sadness about letting them go and expectation about the next year, the new children, we forget how much we repeat this pattern, but we think will they make laugh as much as this and that, will they have clever little comments like my little F. So the end of the year blues attack us and we go back to the wonderful memories we shared, we get a little down, shed a tear or two and move on.

I will miss my little apples that is for sure, but I am excited for my new challenge.