Received a very nice surprise today...several former students of mine, all in seventh grade now, stopped by to sing me "Happy Birthday." What a great, heart-warming surprise. :)
My fourth graders wanted to present the bones, muscles and other body parts they've learned so far this year in a unique way. So, during our lower school assembly, we presented the skit, "The Most Accident-Prone Family in Wisconsin." Enjoy! I'd have to say that most of my posts stress the positive side of teaching. and that's intentional, since it's the most rewarding, powerful, life-changing profession out there. And changing careers to be a teacher is still the best decision of my life. But, that doesn't mean that everyday is rosey - far from it. Teaching is challenging, tear-inducing, relentless and exhausting! This week was "one of those weeks." Things were up and down. And that's okay.
Discussions had to be made, with me and students, me and administrators and students with administrators. Sometimes it just happens that way, no matter the intentions, no matter the classroom management, no matter the amount of learning happening. When so many people are involved (students, parents, administrators, teachers), miscommunication and disagreements are bound to happen. And when confronted with those, it's very easy to become frustrated, apathetic, or disillusioned. That's natural. What I learned this week is that I have to talk about things, and share with the right people, people of integrity that will listen, empathize, but also be honest with me. This helps refresh and changes the perspective just enough to give my mind and spirit a chance to regroup. Things are going to consistently come up that challenge us. What we do with those challenges makes us who we are. And we are not who we were yesterday - we are constantly growing and becoming better teachers and people. Hang in there and a power beyond us will tranform us and almost force us to be better people. I'm thankful for that. It's still the best profession and I am grateful to be blessed to spend my time with young, spirited, creative powerful minds and spirits. Onward! |
Archives
December 2016
© 2015 Peter J. Wilson
AuthorPeter Wilson teaches fourth grade at University Lake School, in Hartland, WI. |