Reflection+2

1 . Significant events for me this week were… This week a significant event I noticed is that while there are good days and bad days in my classroom, every day is //hard//. Hard doesn't necessarily mean bad, which is why I'm not too discouraged to come to work, but hard does always mean exhausting. There literally isn't a day in my week that doesn't end in me feeling dead tired. After I put the kids on the bus all I have the engergy to do is reset my room for the next day and go home. It's a really physical job. There is a lot of up and down, crawling on the floor, picking kids up, carrying kids from point A to point B, etc.

2. As a result of these events, I have learned… As a result of being so tired I'm learning that I need to be making the most of my mornings in order to continue moving forward in my classroom. This is the type of teaching where I think it would easy to get to a point where you are surviving and then just keep doing the same things over and over again to maintain the status quo. It's also more difficult to move forward because I don't have planning time built into my day, so there's not really time to create new lessons unless I make it in the mornings.

3. I realize that I need to know more about... Keeping my cool! Sometimes I feel so angry at my students when they're disobedient, disrespectful or aggressive. It depends on the student but I tend to feel more impatient with the higher functioning ones who understand that they are being defiant. I also get hit a lot because many of them flail when they're upset and that contributes to feeling angry/frustrated. This week I am proud of the way that Kim and I have persevered through tantrums and other difficult behaviors throughout the day. So much of what helps these students connect with what we want them to be learing is consistency, and I feel like Kim and I did a great job of being consistent this week.

‍‍‍4. This week I am most proud of the way

This week I am proud of the way that Kim and I have persevered through tantrums and other difficult behaviors throughout the day. So much of what helps these students connect with what we want them to be learing is consistency, and I feel like Kim and I did a great job of being consistent this week.

Dear Hope:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feeling with me. Once again you have written a meaningful reflection. I can see why you are feeling worn out and at wits end most days. I think anybody would in your shoes with all the physical and emotional energy that is used in your classroom. I enjoyed reading about how you realized what "hard" means to you in our profession. I completely agree with your thoughts on this idea. Knowing how exhausting your day is, what are some practical things you can do to help keep your stamina during the day?

You definitely desrve to take pride in your perseverance this week. What a difficult skill to actually follow through on, but very rewarding in the end. Of course, some days are better than others...but sometimes, we have to do one day at a time...sometimes one hour at a time. :) Perseverance takes emotional, mental, and physical energy. Using all three of these can be extremely draining and exhausting. You are learning great lessons in your first year because this is a skill that will come in handy in any grade level you teach, in my experience.

I appreciate your honesty about becoming frustrated with disobedient students. You had a great realization that you are less patient with your higher functioning students. What strategies do you have for yourself when you realize you are growing impatient and frustrated?

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

See you Thursday- Stacy