.....and now for the rest of the story.
Ok, I am going to admit it right up front.....I was wrong. There...now I've said it...now I will tell you the 'rest of the story' from this past week.
Two stories ago, I whined and complained about going to a workshop that I doubted its worth all week long, having to be away from my kindergartners for 5 whole days, & having to leave preparations for a substitute teacher that I just knew would leave my room trashed and not do any of the assigned work I spent so much time preparing.
Well, first of all.....the workshop, though long and boring and tedious at times, was well worth the time. I think it may have revolutionized my whole way of teaching children how to read. According to some of the research, many things we do as teachers are counterproductive and actually add to the difficulty of reading. I won't go into that at this point, but I may give you a report later on how it actually works in my classroom. (If you happen to be a teacher and are curious, you might check out "Phono-Graphix" on the internet.) So, I must say, all in all, I am glad I went. The added joy was spending the whole week with, Jeanie, the Special Ed. resource teacher at my school. She is such a delightful and courageous person, which I have observed in many arenas of her life. I greatly admire her and she is a laugh a minute!
Back at the school, things seemed to have gone well. Mr. Holmes, the substitute teacher, seemed to have done a pretty decent job. Every day I went by to leave instructions and materials for that day. Each afternoon, Mr. Holmes left the completed work in a stack for me to see and left the room fairly tidy. My next-door neighbor/teacher reported that the children certainly pushed the limits, but Mr. Holmes didn’t let them get away with the behavior.
On Thursday morning, I ran into Joshua, one of my sweetest little boys. I asked him how the students were behaving and he reported who all were NOT on their best behavior. When I asked if the sub was nice and if he was doing a good job, his response was, “I don’t think I can speak about that!” I suppose I will know tomorrow morning how things went – they always have a LOT to tell when I return.
So, what did I learn from this week?
1 – I can’t always control things (duh!), but it helps to keep me from obsessing if a) I am re-assured pretty soon that the circumstances are not as out of control as I had feared, and b) I do all I can to plan and organize things so that if things don’t go well, it will not be because of a lack of adequate plans left.
2 – My husband is right – I am a better teacher both academically and emotionally if I take a break from time to time to be refreshed and trained with new things!
3 – I should not stereo-type (I knew that!) – not even substitute teachers! There are some excellent ones and some that try to get by with as little as possible and just survive the day! Then there are some that do an adequate job! The more positive I can be, the better the outcome!
4 – Sometimes you need to just push on through and do the extra work, even if it takes more time. Hopefully, it will pay off. If not, at least you can feel good about giving it your best shot!
I am glad I went on and did what I thought was the right thing – for me and the children. Even when it goes against what I “feel” is wrong or hard or too much trouble, to press on through and do what’s right usually pays off. I can hardly wait to see my babies tomorrow! It may take a day or two to get back into our routine, but when they learn to read, it will be worth it all!
(I hope they are glad to see me – I hope the sub wasn't TOO good!)
Two stories ago, I whined and complained about going to a workshop that I doubted its worth all week long, having to be away from my kindergartners for 5 whole days, & having to leave preparations for a substitute teacher that I just knew would leave my room trashed and not do any of the assigned work I spent so much time preparing.
Well, first of all.....the workshop, though long and boring and tedious at times, was well worth the time. I think it may have revolutionized my whole way of teaching children how to read. According to some of the research, many things we do as teachers are counterproductive and actually add to the difficulty of reading. I won't go into that at this point, but I may give you a report later on how it actually works in my classroom. (If you happen to be a teacher and are curious, you might check out "Phono-Graphix" on the internet.) So, I must say, all in all, I am glad I went. The added joy was spending the whole week with, Jeanie, the Special Ed. resource teacher at my school. She is such a delightful and courageous person, which I have observed in many arenas of her life. I greatly admire her and she is a laugh a minute!
Back at the school, things seemed to have gone well. Mr. Holmes, the substitute teacher, seemed to have done a pretty decent job. Every day I went by to leave instructions and materials for that day. Each afternoon, Mr. Holmes left the completed work in a stack for me to see and left the room fairly tidy. My next-door neighbor/teacher reported that the children certainly pushed the limits, but Mr. Holmes didn’t let them get away with the behavior.
On Thursday morning, I ran into Joshua, one of my sweetest little boys. I asked him how the students were behaving and he reported who all were NOT on their best behavior. When I asked if the sub was nice and if he was doing a good job, his response was, “I don’t think I can speak about that!” I suppose I will know tomorrow morning how things went – they always have a LOT to tell when I return.
So, what did I learn from this week?
1 – I can’t always control things (duh!), but it helps to keep me from obsessing if a) I am re-assured pretty soon that the circumstances are not as out of control as I had feared, and b) I do all I can to plan and organize things so that if things don’t go well, it will not be because of a lack of adequate plans left.
2 – My husband is right – I am a better teacher both academically and emotionally if I take a break from time to time to be refreshed and trained with new things!
3 – I should not stereo-type (I knew that!) – not even substitute teachers! There are some excellent ones and some that try to get by with as little as possible and just survive the day! Then there are some that do an adequate job! The more positive I can be, the better the outcome!
4 – Sometimes you need to just push on through and do the extra work, even if it takes more time. Hopefully, it will pay off. If not, at least you can feel good about giving it your best shot!
I am glad I went on and did what I thought was the right thing – for me and the children. Even when it goes against what I “feel” is wrong or hard or too much trouble, to press on through and do what’s right usually pays off. I can hardly wait to see my babies tomorrow! It may take a day or two to get back into our routine, but when they learn to read, it will be worth it all!
(I hope they are glad to see me – I hope the sub wasn't TOO good!)
posted by Betty @ 9:00 PM
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