What's happening in 6th grade?
I'm currently running on adrenaline! Gave in my building keys this morning with a huge sigh of relief. I'm going to continue my reflections on this year. Aside from beginning in a whole new district, my favorite and most exciting project for the year has been gamification. After some self-assessment, I'll grade myself as: There were many facets of this project that I tried and implemented this year, some with success and many with room for improvement.
I want to preface this by reminding you (and myself) that I was starting a whole lot of NEW this year. I was beginning in a new district, school, grade level, curriculum, going from being a middle school oriented teacher back to a self-contained classroom. In retrospect, while my goals were lofty, the year was challenging, and there is much room for improvement. Successes:
Biggest Area for Growth:
One year of gamification down, "x" number to go. I'm so excited to see where next year goes. I would call this year of gamification a success, but a work in progress. Didn't crash and burn, but didn't thrive. Cheers to growth!
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Well, it's been quite a while since actually posting something on here. I actually have three posts in the queue that I have not yet posted. There is much to share, but I won't go into tremendous detail here. Not going to add any frills to the post. Just thoughts. I need to get it out, or it won't happen.
Whew! This past year was my first year in an urban high-need district, after teaching five years in Catholic school in a more rural setting. I won't compare the two because there is no need to do so. This year was challenging, to say the least. I won't say I was completely naive before moving to the inner city, but I certainly learned more about life, myself, and the human condition after teaching here. There were so many tough tough moments of dealing with some really difficult sad behaviors, but also many amazing moments that empowered me to keep going. Today was the last day of school, and I was able to sit down at the end of the day with one of my students who had really struggled all year with behavior and disengagement. After several weeks of very defiant behavior, he seemed to be a bit "in the dumps" and out of character for him toward the end of the day. I pulled him aside to have the last of many many talks we had this year. My goal was to leave the year on a positive note, no matter how it looked. I told him that he could come back whenever he wanted and we could talk, or he could just take time. He was a bit taken aback by this, and said I was only going to remember the bad things from the year. I explained to him that in life, you tend to look back positively on many experiences and in more or less words, time heals wounds. I vaguely shared some experiences from college that I look back on very fondly today, and was surprised to look back in my journal and see what I was really thinking in my journal those years. I had forgotten about some really difficult people I was dealing with. Nevertheless, time heals many wounds, and my door is always open. He had this interesting comforted look on his face. It was not the cure-all conversation, but it was one of many in a series I'm sure will continue beyond this year. Is he transformed and empowered to go change the world right now? Probably not, he would rather play Fortnite or watch Youtube, but he knows I'm still here for him. Still. In this neighborhood, many students lack stability in their lives. I struggled to understand that my classroom, while seeming hectic at times this year, was a place of stability and safety for many students. I only pray that I can be somewhat of an anchor for this student, and others, in the coming year(s) beyond this year. This is why building relationships is the core of education. It is not about checking boxes, writing objectives, or standardized testing. It is about being a champion for students, through the thick and thin. There are so many more thoughts that are running through my mind, but I'll take the summer to reflect and get ready to go for a new year. I'll also take this time to rejuvenate and rest. I'm so thankful for this year, the most challenging year of teaching yet. |
About MeLouie here! 5th Grade Teacher. Level 2 Google Educator. Love all things Google. 1:1 Chromebooks. Archives
June 2020
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