A Series of Short Stories, from Fat Moron to Fridays from Hell.

I'd like to apologize for the long breaks between posts! These past two weeks have been beyond busy, so much so that I've barely had enough time to work, eat, and sleep. Such is the life of a teacher.

Here are a few short stories that wrap up the last two weeks or so of my experience:

In one of my guided reading groups, we are reading Pat Mora: Two Languages, One Poet.  This is a leveled book used specifically with certain levels of readers. The four students that I have in this group, unfortunately, all have issues with following directions and are often making rude/inappropriate remarks. The first time seeing this book, Pat Mora, two of them, at the same time, said, "We're reading about a fat moron?" Yikes. I almost could not keep my laughter to myself because it came out of nowhere.

I recently had a young boy ask me to play catch with him at recess. When he first asked me, I was beyond happy and eagerly agreed. I was so happy to see him reach out to me because from what I have seen, he does not like to interact with adults. In the classroom, he is often heard making inappropriate comments about bodily functions, talking back, and being disruptive. He and I spent morning recess on Thursday and Friday of this week playing catch and it's been a blast. I've seen him relax, laugh, and be confident in himself. He is new to the school this year and I believe that some of his issues in the classroom may be due to low self-esteem. When it was just he and I, he was completely relaxed and very happy. Friday, he asked me during Social Studies if I'd play with him (twenty minutes before recess) and I simply said, "You bet I do." His eyes lit up and he smiled. I really, really hope that playing catch will become a regular Thursday and Friday morning recess thing. It's great to see him carefree and laughing. I'm also hoping that I will be able to help him transfer that joy into the classroom.

A week ago Thursday, my teacher, James, emailed me at 6 am to tell me that he was sick and would not be in for school that day. Shocked, I was not sure how to respond. My first thought was: "God, please let there be a substitute." Then, recalling a previous conversation with James, I remember him saying that if he were to ever gone from school, I would be left in charge. When I got to school, I had to prep for the entire day, decide what to do, and mentally prepare myself. The subs both days were great, but didn't do hardly anything. Like James had said, I was left in charge. I kicked my butt all day to make sure everything got done, monitor all behavior issues, and attempt to teach the kids something. The only time that either sub stepped in was to make the kids be quiet at the end of the day as I was attempting to dismiss them.

Friday was by far the hardest day of my student teaching experience. The kids were beyond ornery and loud. I could barely keep them under control. Because it was the second day without their teacher and it was Friday after a very long week, they were ready to push my limits and let me tell you, they sure did. I honestly think I shrunk in size that Friday. I came home down on myself and my teaching abilities. I felt like I had accomplished very little and felt so small.

Then, after talking to myself all weekend about what had happened, I finally decided that I should feel very fortunate for having my first Friday from Hell. I have known for as long as I can remember that Fridays after a long week are never good. Kids get crazy! Having a substitute only makes them get crazier. Anyway, I am happy that it happened when it did. I was forced to take control of the classroom (even though I felt like I had no control) and take over the entire day without the support of my cooperating teacher. I was frustrated, irritated, and beyond stressed.

After the day was through, I was much more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, specifically in terms of my classroom management. I've got so much to learn--so much. Since then, I've tried extremely hard to be better. I've been more patient, tried to engage in more conversations with my students, and have taken more steps to not become so easily frustrated.

I have tried harder to relate more to my students and let me tell you, I love the way things went this week. I was much more honest with my students, laughed more with them, and spent more time really talking with them. I feel like they opened up a lot this week and were much more willing to go out on a limb with me. Sure, this week was full of frustrations, but it was also filled with laughter, playing catch, staff meetings, new responsibilities, and new beginnings. I love teaching, even if it does bring it's struggles.