The End of the First Chapter

   I cannot believe I have already completed my first year of teaching! When I think back to last August and my first day of school I it feels like it was only 10 days ago, but in reality it was 10 months ago. Standing on the other side and looking back over my year I learned so much. I can’t even begin to write about all my experiences. I have only blogged about a few of the stories. For everyone one I wrote this year there are a dozen more that I didn’t find the time for. But I wanted to take time to look back and reflect on some of my triumphs, failures, and lessons in between.

    First, I will share one of my greatest triumphs. On the last full week of school I had my end of the year review with my principal. As we were discussing my strengths she said, “I would like to compliment you on your biggest strength, you are wonderful at forming relationships with your students. I know that every kid in your class knows you love and care for them. And that is something that comes from within, it can’t be taught.” Her compliment was like gold to me. It’s the one thing I wanted her to say because it’s the reason I wanted to teach in the first place. Loving the kids is my core.

    And now a failure…or two. Maybe failure isn’t this right word…weakness is better. There any several things I plan to do different next year. The first is my classroom management (which I think will take time to craft). I’ve always heard “go in strong, be mean at first, gain their respect and then you can back off.” Well mean isn’t something I do well. Sure I get upset and I get angry, but I was surprised at how much I wanted my 8 year olds to like me! My plan for next year is to be more firm (firm and friendly to be exact, thank you Kara Swofford). But also I really want to instill more respect and trust on my students. I know that if I allow them to take more responsibility up front it will help me and my students in the long run.

    Another area I left weak was differentiating my lessons (teaching to different ability levels). I know my lower and average learners were challenged but I don’t think I did enough to push my highest kids to their potential. Next year I want to take the extra steps to be sure every student is challenged.

    Lessons in between. I learned so many valuable lessons this year. One of the greatest I learned was from the teacher across the hall from me. He taught me to keep smiling no matter what. And if I lost my smile, he would toss me an extra across the hall.

    Also, I learned that what my kids wanted most from me was love. As human beings it is what we crave. I could see it in their little eyes. Some days they didn’t need me to teach me, they just needed me to love them.

    And if I had to give advice to first year teachers I would tell them not to sweat the small stuff. In the end it doesn’t matter how cute your classroom is. It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend preparing your lessons, someone else will teach it better. What matters is being there and giving it everything you have in that moment. Oh yeah, and that it’s ok to leave school before 5 o’clock. It doesn’t make you a bad teacher, in fact I think having a life outside of school makes you a better one!

    I know there are many things I will do different next year, but I wouldn’t change a thing about this one. I’ve grown more as a person in the last 10 months than I maybe in my whole life. Teaching is my passion and it makes me a better person in every aspect of my life. I know I chose the right career. I love it. Plus, I get summers OFF! Seriously, it’s AWESOME. Why doesn’t everybody want to teach??