Just one of those days
After a half hour of blank stares from my math group, I had just about had enough. I handed out rulers, calculators, and half-sheets of paper and told them to go crazy measuring things around the classroom. This activity could keep a group of third graders busy for HOURS - so long as you aren't expecting accurate measurements, of course.
Within a span of 5 minutes, my coffee was knocked over... twice. By the third time, I was so frustrated I yelled. Not my proudest moment, but I really "needed" that coffee today. How could my students be so irresponsible as to knock it over three times?
Apparently I needed to be knocked down a few notches, because less than two minutes after my yelling, I knocked the coffee over myself.
If I had been on the receiving end of a yelling session and then watched my hypocritical teacher do the exact thing she had just yelled at me for, I would have chalked one up to kharma.
What do my darling students do? They instantly rush over with paper towels and sympathetic smiles and clean up the mess FOR me. MY MESS. They don't utter a word about my hypocrisy.
These kids deserve better than my short temper.
It's not their fault my boyfriend lives in another country and still doesn't know when he will be coming home.
It's not their fault NCLB requires me to test every last brain cell they have in a language they don't understand and haven't been taught in.
It's not their fault I have to turn in every ounce of data possible to a team in Colorado that really has no idea what a typical week looks like in my classroom, but expects me to perform to their ridiculous standards.
It's not their fault I still haven't heard from PSU for next year.
It's not their fault it's that time of the month (sorry, more information than you probably wanted to know).
It's not their fault I'm exhausted and completely burned out.
They walk into the doors of my classroom every day so blessedly innocent and hopeful. Lord, help me to nurture that innocence rather than condemn it as naivety.
Within a span of 5 minutes, my coffee was knocked over... twice. By the third time, I was so frustrated I yelled. Not my proudest moment, but I really "needed" that coffee today. How could my students be so irresponsible as to knock it over three times?
Apparently I needed to be knocked down a few notches, because less than two minutes after my yelling, I knocked the coffee over myself.
If I had been on the receiving end of a yelling session and then watched my hypocritical teacher do the exact thing she had just yelled at me for, I would have chalked one up to kharma.
What do my darling students do? They instantly rush over with paper towels and sympathetic smiles and clean up the mess FOR me. MY MESS. They don't utter a word about my hypocrisy.
These kids deserve better than my short temper.
It's not their fault my boyfriend lives in another country and still doesn't know when he will be coming home.
It's not their fault NCLB requires me to test every last brain cell they have in a language they don't understand and haven't been taught in.
It's not their fault I have to turn in every ounce of data possible to a team in Colorado that really has no idea what a typical week looks like in my classroom, but expects me to perform to their ridiculous standards.
It's not their fault I still haven't heard from PSU for next year.
It's not their fault it's that time of the month (sorry, more information than you probably wanted to know).
It's not their fault I'm exhausted and completely burned out.
They walk into the doors of my classroom every day so blessedly innocent and hopeful. Lord, help me to nurture that innocence rather than condemn it as naivety.
Comments
You can do ANYTHING through Christ who strengthens.
Your kids understand and will forgive you, 'cause you have showed them how.
LOVE,
DAD