This first month and a half of school has been very
frustrating, draining and full of opportunities to redefine my capacity for
patience and the limits of my immune system. Both need some work. There have
been some fantastic experiences too, which I will write about at a later date. It seems
more important to get this out now.
Loosely based on the game, “Never Have I Ever,” I felt a
need to write a few things down, as much to vent as to look back on in the
future…I’m sure I will be adding to it!
Never Did I Ever (Imagine)…Teaching Version:
- potty training children
- tossing out a whole day’s lesson planning just
to pursue a great conversation with a group
- chasing children down the hallways and playing
unwilling games of ‘hide and seek’…ten times daily
- locking a child out of my classroom to try to
make a point
- needing a ‘safety word’ to call out to staff to
give permission to grab a runaway child
- the amount of paperwork involved in teaching
Kindergarten and Pre-K
- wiping children’s bottoms
- the feeling of a child’s hug after they’ve had a
traumatic experience
- and the feeling of loss when a child is taken
out of school as a result of unsafe conditions at home
- re-learning to cut, color and draw, and attempt
to print right-handed to demonstrate skills (darn being left-handed!)
- being bitten
- being hit and kicked and essentially, beat up by
a 4-year old
- how incredible it is to see when a child finally
understands a concept
- needing time outs for myself
- the anger and frustration I have for parents who
have put their children in unsafe environments from pre-birth
- the number of conversations involving
nose-picking and bodily functions had in complete seriousness
- the expectations placed on teachers to teach
curriculum, manners, social norms, right and wrong, positive motivation, etc.
- and then that these expectations are not
continued at home
- the responsibility to decipher, diagnose, and
put in place plans for students from doctors, lawyers, social workers,
behaviour consultants, occupational therapists and speech therapists
- crying in front of a child to try to make a
point
- crying in the principal’s office
- moving an entire class out of the classroom and
into the hallway to finish reading a story to allow another student to finish a
crying/screaming fit
- having glorious dance parties often
- being invited to student’s homes for tea
parties, princess parties, farming, tv show watching and holiday dinners
- losing so
much sleep through worrying about students, lesson planning and creating
‘what-if’ situations
- getting to know children, their families, history
and health backgrounds in such depth
- convincing children that teachers have their own
playground in the staff-room
-the amount of love and care that you develop for each child in a short period of time
-the amount of love and care that you develop for each child in a short period of time
Thanks for reading!
