A rough day...

Today, a Monday, was a tough one for me. Nothing really seemed to click in the classroom. My kids seemed to be a little squirrelly today and the things I tried didn't really work. In the end, I got through the day, but don't feel like I was a very good teacher.

A friend shared a good teacher quote for a day like today. It goes like this:

"Mondays are my favorite day of the week because
I haven't %&*#@d up yet."

In the end, as I reflect back on today, I feel good that I survived and I think the kids may still have learned in the process. I know I will encounter many more days of this in the future, maybe tomorrow, but I know they will pass. I will have another day to try my hand at teaching and helping my kids learn and grow.

Not much fun...

I substituted for a 6th grade class last week and I got my butt kicked. Not physically, but mentally. The class was rambunctious and I couldn't really get them to focus on anything. And to finish the day off, a student told me that he had just "sharted" in his pants.

Teaching Quote

"You don't have to be perfect to be excellent." - Mr. B, Sr.

My brother reminded me of this quote that came from an influential educator and person in my life, my dad. After having a rough day where classroom behavior issues were rampant and I felt a little on edge, this quote helped me out.

I am going to have days where I am not a great teacher or even a good teacher. Days where I feel under-prepared or have less tolerance for chaos. I'll make my share of mistakes, big and small, along the way. Despite this, I can still be an excellent teacher.

Exhaustion

The past week has been a challenging one for me. I have been lacking energy due to little sleep and lots of stuff to to. It's at the time of the school year and semester when all things start to come together into a storm of stress and sleeplessness. My final projects/portfolios and essays are due this week. Deadlines for job applications have come and gone. And I am in my last 10 days of student teaching.

Last night, after dinner with friends, I came home and crashed. My head hit the pillow and I don't think I moved until my alarm sounded 7 hours later. A sweet seven hours that have been in short supply. Today I felt a little more energized.

I guess this means I'll need to find a better routine (earlier to bed) when I have my own classroom next year.