We have one quarter left of this school year.
I’m not one to wish things away. Good, bad, or otherwise, this life is about the experiences, and wishing those away doesn’t feel right.
This is year though. This year has been a tough one, tougher than online teaching, than last year with Covid running amok and kids with masks. I was sharing with a co-worker that this year is just wearing me out because I feel so ineffective as a teacher.
I know I’m preaching to the choir about all the things that are different this year, so it’s hard to complain too much because everyone has seen crazy stuff.
I don’t put up a countdown for the end of the school year. Again, I don’t like to wish things away. And I know there are students who have done absolutely awesome work. The problem, they are the ones who get shouted down.
One of the huge changes I see is very similar to that last sentence. We have students who believe that if they talk the loudest, they are right. It’s been modeled on the national stage for years now, but it seems to have reared it’s ugly head, at least in our school, this year.
How do we cope? A lot deep breathing, a lot of positive self-talk, and a lot of just going “brain dead” (repeating the same things back to students, offering to argue at 3:20 when we leave, little things like that). They do work, but I know inside, it eats me up BECAUSE I have so many awesome kids.
This 6th class has been a real treat. They have their moments and I struggle with one section, but for the most part, they are a really nice group, which makes those behaviors even more difficult for me to stomach.
I don’t know. Kids have changed. Parents have changed. I’m feeling old and out of place more and more.
Again, not to wish things away because there are many great experiences left for our students.
We’ll just make sure to breathe and focus on the good.
Because that’s what we do.
March 24, 2022 at 4:25 am
Feeling out of place… I can relate to that and so much more here. Kids and parents have changed. It’s a lot to deal with sometimes. I’m glad you’re still able to see the good.
March 24, 2022 at 9:33 am
They have changed and I’m not sure how to deal with certain things.
We always look for that good in what we do, don’t we? 🙂
March 24, 2022 at 5:42 am
So many things to relate to in this post. At the elementary level, we are having to “socialize” kids who weren’t outside their homes for two years–that’s been a struggle in itself. Social-emotional learning has taken priority, and we’re not regretting that in the least.
March 24, 2022 at 9:32 am
SEL should be a priority, yet, I feel like we are rushing to get “school” back to “normal”. It’s not normal and never will be.
I’m not sure what normal will look like and keep hoping that as we move forward, we’ll make it a better place for all! 🙂
March 24, 2022 at 8:17 pm
You know, I feel like everything that happened since Covid would have been an amazing opportunity to finally make some positive changes in education! But we didn’t. We just kept trying to push everything back to the way it was…which needed to change before covid. That’s what makes things harder for me to swallow this year. If that makes any sense.
March 24, 2022 at 8:15 pm
Oof…I feel like I could have written this post. We are all feeling it. Hang in there!