Teaching: What, like it's hard?

Teachers, do you ever get that? You might go out with friends, or talk to strangers, or come home to your loving family tired from a day of wrangling little ones, herding kittens...whatever you want to call it and something is just:

"Teaching?" 

Doesn't that make you just want to set something on fire? No? Maybe I have some unresolved anger issues. So, yes. Teaching is hard, but it's also the best. 

School has been in session for a couple of months and things are going pretty well. My class is good, though we definitely have some daily (hourly, minutely) challenges. We are learning to work together and how to be a team and I think that it's going pretty well. I was pretty excited about my superhero themed room and I feel thankful that my class responded well to it. It seems kind of silly, but I want them to be comfortable and happy so I tried to make it fun. 

I worked super hard over the summer setting everything up and it makes me happy to see my kiddos responding well to it. It also lets me know what they like and are into and how I can get to know them. 

Getting to know your kids is probably one of the most, if not the most important things about teaching. I honestly feel like by having those conversations and learning who your students are you build trust and a relationship that will last throughout the year, if not longer. I know that I am personally still connected to many of my teachers for those reasons. They took the time to build relationships with me, and I get to see it with some of my former students too. What we as teachers do now can last a lifetime...in a good or bad way. 

These first few months are critical when building trust. I'm lucky enough to work at a school who builds things like that into our daily routing. I learn about my kids just by sitting around and listening to them share things with each other at our morning meeting, whether it's their favorite superhero or their least favorite food. It can be something silly or we talk about the future and what goals we want to set for ourselves. 

So, yeah, maybe that does sound kind of easy, only it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. There are definitely going to be challenges. Sometimes you get new students who throw off your dynamic and you have to work as a team to build a new kind of dynamic. You don't always know your students' struggles at home or even in their own heads. There are so many things you have to cognizant and careful of that it is hard. 

But, like I said (and always say), it's the best work. So far this year I have seen many of my students overcome anxiety and fear just by simply raising a hand in class to offer an answer or to read aloud, which is a huge feat in my book. 

We do good work when we do it well, if that makes sense. There are so many things wrong with education these days (according to everyone who isn't a teacher) so we need to be what's right with education. Because, yeah, it is hard...but we make it look easy, right? 

I hope you're all having a great year and continue to be the best version of yourself. 

Happy teaching.