Ok so I woke up about 6am which really isn’t that early for me. Ever since I was a kid I had butterflies in my stomach before a soccer game, the first day or school, or anything else super exciting. This year, teaching is super exciting. I am working with what I consider to be “the dream team.” Just to recap, I teach 4th grade at a school you might label “inner city.” I say might because it resists labels. It’s not urban and it’s not rural. It’s in a city called Adelanto … see, no one has a clue. At any rate, the kids are great and they have brains just as able as the kids on the “silver spoon” side of town. I’ve been teaching there since August, 2002 and I am absolutely proud to be a Westside Park “Wildcat.”
Our team last year out performed every school in the District. In other words, of all the 4th grade classes in the school district, we were the highest. In addition, we were the highest scoring grade level at my home school. So are you starting to see why I was so excited to go to the meeting. Other than my friend Jay telling me I was getting old, everyone who greeted me made me feel so good about our accomplishments. This is what we work for all year. It will be an entire calendar year before we can feel this again … that is, if we earn the chance.
My room is completely barren and deviod of decor. Tomorrow, this weekend and Monday I will be creating a “canvas” on which my kids and I will paint a year of memories and learning. Since this year has brought me such joy and renewed strength, borne of hard work I might add, I wanted to share that through three mantras with you. I am very into mantras or powerful statements you tell yourself throughout the day to help you stay focused. Here goes:
- I will help one or more today.
- Above all else, I will be kind.
- I will measure progress toward my goals today when I’m done.
A blogger I respect, Siobhan Curious, recently wrote an article on meditation for teachers. If you like the mantra concept, you might enjoy her meditation post. It is important we assemble ways to relax and “remember ourself” when it gets hot. And in teaching, there are inevitably times when it gets hot. That’s one thing I know after 11 years doing it.
So how’s your back to school going? Would you care to write a few mantras and share? I sure hope so. It can be very liberating. Perhaps you can share some ways you stay mellow when the pressure is on to “make the grade.”
3 Comments
Hey, thanks for the mention!
I find it useful to set myself “tasks.” This is similar to a mantra, although not always framed in such positive terms (although if all goes well, the outcome is a positive one.) I base these tasks on things I need to work on. For example, one semester I set myself the task of “not getting annoyed.” I wrote about this task here:
http://siobhancurious.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/small-tasks/
My task for this term? I’m still thinking about it, but it might be “appreciating what each student can teach me.”
That task shows you are both humble and smart, top traits in a teacher in my opinion :)
I like the idea of a mantra (or mantras in this case). It is a great way to stay focused on the positive. I hope you year is going well!