4 Things I am taking away from this year…
I am capable of feeling empathy to a degree I didn’t think was possible.
I have found that, in order for me to impart knowledge, I first have to understand who my students are. What anxieties are they bringing to my room that they need help dealing with? Can they see the purpose in what I am teaching so they are actually inclined to stay engaged? This younger generation is eager to learn and break barriers; they do not like to be talked down to or made to simply “go through the motions.” The depth of empathy I have grappled with is not unfamiliar, but the quantity has opened my eyes to just how important my position can be.
“Professional Development” is just as boring as everyone says.
Are there valuable learning opportunities in my district and on my campus? Yes. Do those activities always exist in the large group, detached, intellectual settings where my “professional development” hours normally exist? Maybe not. My favorite “light-bulb” moments have happened when I least expected them to.
The kids in my classroom are trying their best…
…And I am so grateful. It is the best gift they can give. The outlook of “me versus the students” is harmful both to the mental health of the teacher, but also the growth potential of the classroom. I acknowledge my naivety and spritefulness as a new teacher. I have not yet been burdened with an overwhelming annoyance with school administration, seemingly absurd changes to curriculum, or the fatigue that comes with giving so much of your intellectual and emotional energy for the better part of one’s life. But I can sit, right now, in the contentment brought on seeing young kids look at the world in a new way.
I am growing along with, and sometimes even more than, my students.
While not solely the consequence of learning at work, my emotional intelligence is changing and developing in fascinating ways. I love calling myself out for adopting rigid/angry attitudes from one class to the next simply because a morning student was abnormally stubborn. The kids entering my room in the afternoon simply cannot know they are repeating the same sarcastic questions had by someone else. They are not responsible for changing their behavior to meet my unwritten expectations.
These simple lessons do not do justice to the excitement and anxiety my team and I have experienced every day this year, but it is my way of “counting my blessings” and giving pause to the monotonous feel of full time teaching.
