Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tuesday, January 19

"It will never rain roses; when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees." - George Eliot

Rose #1: Today, I had one of those moments that teachers sometimes dread: my principal dropped by my class. Sometimes, I get nervous when I'm teaching and my principal drops by when it's not something really exciting and engaging. Today, we were reading from the play, and it had come to a part with only two characters. So, the rest of my students who weren't reading probably didn't look totally engaged because, honestly, I thought they probably weren't. However, when I would stop students to ask questions, which I do regardless of whether my principal is in the room or not, they knew the answers. They knew MORE than the answers. They provided totally thought-provoking discussion; I was impressed and so was my principal. It was really exciting to see that my students are actually "getting it."

Rose #2: I had the opportunity to chat with one of my students today when she was done with her work in another class. We went over her grades and how she's doing on her research paper she's working on it. Working with students one-on-one is my favorite part of teaching; unfortunately, I don't get that opportunity very often. I was really thankful for a few minutes to make a connection with her. She's one student that I watch really becoming a better student and person every day, and she reminds me why I'm here.

Rose #3: I finally set up some hanging folders in my filing cabinet so I could file my students' writing folders. They've been stacked up in just about every place around my classroom, my car, and my room at home. Finally, they have a home, and HOPEFULLY, now that they do, I'll use them like I'm supposed to!

Rose #4: When setting up the hanging folders, I found a GREAT resource for helping my students prepare for the writing SOL (state test - Standards of Learning) in March. It's a little old, but it will do, and it didn't cost the school any more money because it was just collecting dust in the back of a drawer. I was getting nervous about how to get the students that needed a little extra help prepared; I've been keeping them after school but I wasn't totally sure how to structure the time. This book will help, and there are more than enough copies for all of my students. I'm thankful I stumbled upon them today, and that someone had the good sense to keep them around!

As a side note, sometimes I don't even realize all of these roses until I start to write about them. I like that this gives me a reason to look back on my day and remember the good instead of focusing on the negative. Thanks for reading! :)

I hope you stopped to smell the roses today.

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