Astro's Win
I am tired today. I stayed up way to late to watch Game 7, well worth it though. Today was a challenge to get through. I just kept reminding myself of my motto "Respond not React." Focus on the positive. It was a good day for the most part only marred by my distraction from exhaustion. "Respond not React." Look them in the eye and listen. Surrender to the fog and just concentrate on the light off in the distance, the pulsating light that draws me in to my daily intentions.
As a first year teacher I wish someone had come to me with this phrase, Respond not React. Challenging situations will arise but one must always slow down, breathe and with calm in your heart respond. I was not good at this for many years within my classroom walls, often letting students get me frustrated and reacting outwardly in this fashion. Students win when they get the best of you. They will try to get you flustered and angry to see if they can "get your goat." I have lost many goats over the years. Today all goats remained on the mountainside. Munching on the grass of knowledge.
I mediate frequently and find ways to focus my frustrations down to a pin point where they could be dispersed rather than consume me. Even in the hustle and bustle of classroom life, I find a quiet place in my mind to meditate. This is not to say that I never get upset or flustered in class, but being flexible and accepting of all opinions has allowed me to let things go more quickly than I often do in other situations. I stop, breathe, count to 4, smile (always smile) and refocus my energy.
Struggle Amidst Frustration
Today my students were struggling with an assignment. They often get frustrated and upset just as I do. They all have situations that may cause them to lash out or overreact or cry or even shut down, just as I do. Rather than tell them the answers, it is my responsibility to determine why? It is my role as facilitator to ask questions and determine why they are frustrated in class, is the lesson too challenging or are they not trying hard enough, is the classroom dynamic causing some students to feel under valued or unrecognized? Most importantly, what can I do to help alleviate this? What needs to be done to rekindle the harmony? Today we took a break and played zombie musical chairs and this relieved the tension.
I have done everything possible to create a well-balanced, student-centered, flexible, safe, authentic and active learning environment for every student. I have discovered the strengths of this and the weaknesses. The strengths are student choice and freedom and independence. Students feel they have a voice and own their own learning and behavior. A weakness though can be that some students need more guidance and redirection and rules to help focus them on their daily quest. This balance is what I as a teacher, seek to find on a daily basis. Today we got out of balance and with a quick game of zombie musical chairs we got back on track.
I do not step in to help resolve every situation, I let them find the right solution. Most of the time they do with little fuss or upheaval. I model for my students daily that listening skills promote trust and respect. To think before you speak. To seek the positive rather than focus on the negative. Everything we encounter is a learning possibility if we choose to make it one. I model this by allowing for freedom of respectful opinions and ideas. Today, I let them have table debates so they could get all of the voices heard and learn as a team.This also calmed them down and got them refocused on the task of the day.
The End of the Day has Come
If we respond with respectful words, "I hear what you are saying, however I disagree because." "Thank you for that feed back I appreciate your ideas, however I believe..", then we are responding not reacting. I modeled this today by remaining calm when I myself, got frustrated. When we are 'not on our game' or 'off kilter' we can lose sight of this. I repeated my motto a lot today- I stayed true to my intentions as well- voice quiet, eyes on the prize, listen and guide. It was a long day but I made it. quiz bowl just ended and now at 4:30 I am going home. To crawl in bed and watch TV and sleep. So I can have the energy to do it all over again tomorrow and a quiz bowl tournament Saturday.
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