Reflecting on 29! years in the classroom…

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

This post is a little late, but hey…maybe you are like me and it takes you a bit to process and reflect.

I gave all of my students this little paper questionnaire. I called it a “grade” and enjoyed reading them when they turned them in. I also commented on paper or out loud and tried to dig a bit deeper with some of my students who were open to it.

I am really proud (even though I know I should not be prideful) that I have lasted this long in education as a classroom teacher. I have taught at only three schools in that time. It’s always been high school and I have taught every level of Spanish. Did you know that only 50% of teachers make it past 5 years in the classroom?

I thought I wanted to pursue a principal position (or an assistant principal position) and got one of my Master’s degrees in admin and supervision. I even took the big long expensive test and passed it. This was all before I was married or had kids. So, my priorities changed when all that transpired. I really don’t regret not pursuing it.

I am happy to be back to sharing more of myself in the classroom. When my kids were at my school for 4 years, I tried to tone down the personal anecdotes and be a little less “weird”. I feel strongly that the more you give of yourself in this job, the more you get in return. Teenagers are smart and they see through you. I truly love teenagers and I love my subject. You can’t fake this!

Here is what I gave them and yes, we did fill it out in English, rather than Spanish.

1. What was your rose?

2. What was your thorn?

3. What are you most proud of?

4. What was most difficult?

5. What could you do to improve that?

General health:

Getting enough sleep?

Eating well?

Enough water?

Moving body/getting exercise?

School/free time balance?

What can you take off plate for next year?

What do you want to work on over summer?

Goals for next year?

I do get into general health because I feel that lack of sleep is one of the worst problems facing our teens. Some of that is due to cell phone addiction and some of that is due to school schedules. Also, why is a teen expected to go to school full time, play sports, do extracurricular activities, hold a part time job, study for the ACT, decide on their future, do college visits all at the same time. It’s just too much.

They are not getting any sort of health education after freshman year. I think it’s important to get healthy messages from their seven classroom teachers after that. It is not lost on me how much influence we have. We are the adults that see them and spend the most time with them at this age. That is an incredible responsibility.

I try to connect with all of my students on some level, but there are some that I just can’t get more than a few words out of. I sometimes connect with a kid about foods that we both like. I connect with some by talking about protein or water intake. You just never know what will help you with that connection.

Here are my answers:

1. My rose was my students. I saw them really come out of their shells with a pretty normal year (back to pre-pandemic almost). Gone were the masks in September, the weekly Covid testing, the social distancing…You guys, we hurt our kids. They had to re-learn how to socialize and be “normal”. It was so wonderful to have to ask kids to stop talking a few times! I had smart and funny students. My favorite thing was at the end of the year when a little Spanish one student gave me a typed-up list of all the funny things I had said this year. He had been taking notes!

2. My thorn was all the meetings that came back! Ugh! Meetings that can be an email are the worst. Meetings for meetings’ sake is what they are.

3. I am most proud of keeping a positive attitude for the most part and trying to see the humor in things. I am also proud of trying TikTok and all of the new technology I learned through that.

4. The cell phones. Our school does not have a solid school wide policy. I have my own policy but it was hard to constantly fight it. I am still coming up with a plan for next year but I have some ideas. They get texts from parents, coaches, employers, and many more during the day and all kinds of notifications are set up on their phones. It seems that no one has boundaries anymore.

5. I am working on an incentive plan to go along with my cellphone policy. I have to do some more thinking and some research.

My sleep was really good this year due to me going to bed when I was tired (not pushing it to stay up to finish that show) and chewing one Ashwaganda by Goli nightly.

I still did my breakfast meal prep and my healthy lunches with Erica, but I didn’t eat as well as the year before and I gained back some weight.

I also could do better with my water.

I also didn’t go to the gym or walk as much after school.

I did have a good school/free time balance and I walked Ernie and read outside as much as possible. I watched less t.v. which was great. I also took more days off which helped me to have more balance.

I guess I could cook smarter and not spend as much time in the kitchen?

I want to work on a better exercise routine.

My goals for next year are to improve my general health habits and get started on that this summer with a good routine.

Whew! Are you a reflective person? Do you live your life on a school calendar or a traditional calendar?

Amy

25 thoughts on “Reflecting on a reflection and…”

  1. I could not wait for summer because I felt like Alec needed that break and to get more, regular sleep. He’s definitely one to try to do ALL the things and I feel like his sleep is always lacking. In his school the kids have health classes all 4 years but so far in his 3 years there they have only covered drug and alcohol addiction over and over each year. I mean I get why but there is so much more to good health… I’m constantly talking with him about work/life balance, eating healthy foods that nourish the body, drinking enough water, and getting a good night’s rest.

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    1. Kids need breaks! I get it – it’s very hard for the teen brain to wind down when needed. Lots of drug stuff is good, but each year should be a different curriculum and they need more about all that other stuff!

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  2. You are truly doing what you were called to do Amy! My best friend has been teaching for 33 years and loves what she does, even though the job gets tougher and tougher at the end of the day, she loves teaching and reaching kids.
    God bless you for all you do to make a difference in the lives of others!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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    1. Aww thank you and cheers to your friend. Yes, it gets harder, but I think she and I also gain the wisdom to block out the noise and do what we innately know is best for the kids.
      And, to you, too!

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  5. My friend, you should TOTALLY be proud of yourself for each of those 29 years! Way to go and job well done. I’ve said it before and I will keep saying it, that it’s obvious how much you love your profession and how much your students love you. It’s evident in everything you say about them, and all the fun little things you do. You proved this again today with this post- you’re thinking about how to better things for them next year. I love those reflection questions and think that’s a great idea to give them at the end of the year. Even though you did have a thorn or two along the way, I know you were so thankful to be back to a normal school year once the masks went away again. It’s great that you’re going to keep some things up and that you’re looking for new ways to better yourself as well. I know you’ll get it all figured out by the time school starts back. I experienced how vital meal prepping was when I worked for the handful of months. It was a lifesaver and saved me so much time every morning! I am glad you shared this for your own memories- I am like you and take time to process things.

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    1. Thank you! I do. I feel like it was what I was meant to do. I am seeing so many students using their Spanish in Spain right now – and other Spanish speaking countries – and I hope I have stayed in their hearts a bit?
      I need to re-read this before school starts up. I am already feeling sad that I am closer to the end of my career than the beginning but I will know when the time is right.

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  6. I truly wish that every kid had a teacher like you! You’re so caring and considerate of all their needs, it’s remarkable. (Love this survey btw, might modify it for the workplace.)

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    1. Aww, I didn’t post this for comments like that, but I appreciate your words. I have had to learn to put my mental health at the forefront, too, so it’s often a balance of what I can handle and what is best for them.
      Yes – I bet all workplaces could use something!

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  8. I agree with Suki in the comment above…I wish there were more teachers like you. Students KNOW when their teachers really care about them, and it is clear that you do. I was so sad to hear about some of my kids experiences in the classroom because some of the teachers did not seem to be focused on the right things. Cheers to 29 years and on finding a good work/life balance and a new cell phone policy too!

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    1. I didn’t post this for those kind of accolades, but thank you. They really do. I know. You aren’t going to always get all 7 teachers that are amazing. But, that is part of life and your bosses will not all be amazing, either.
      Thank you and I need to figure that out!

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  9. You’ve given me a lot to think about! Your students are lucky to have you! I like the idea of giving a questionnaire. I had a horrific school year, the worst ever, and honestly I felt like I didn’t want to be there most days. I had a lot of trouble sleeping and a lot of anxiety over some classes and some students. I had a class of 12 well behaved students and we had so much fun learning, and then I had a class of 22 who fed off of each other’s antics and were very rude to me at times (not all, but some). So many schedule changes were made without asking us, the teachers, if that particular student would do okay emotionally and behavior wise in the class, and my class numbers were unbalanced. I had the emotionally disturbed class that varied, 4-9 students, but if they couldn’t behave and be together in the self-contained room, why give them all to me for one class a day? I’m hoping the switch to high school will be a better fit. I am a good teacher and like to teach. I try to connect with my students. I never belittle and try to be light-hearted, but this year was hard!

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  10. I love that you give your students this survey. It shows them how much you care. I would say I have a similar rose and thorn. It was nice to have a more normal year, but you are right— damage has been done. I was just thinking about how after next year, my kids will be with me (at least that’s the plan for now) and I want to respect their experience and not be in the way. My school is big, so that will help.

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    1. Thank you. I really like the conversations we have about stuff like this. Totally. It’s a delicate balance. I really didn’t go out of my way to see mine but it was nice being all together. Those memories will stay with me.

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  11. I don’t know how I missed this the first time around but you have hit my HOT button. Wow!!! Let’s just spend a day on the lake solving all our educational problems, eh???
    First off, THANK YOU for being there. Thank you for sticking it out, pouring into your professional development and teaching the kids year-in-and-year-out. All I ever wanted in life was to be a teacher and got to start in 1995 and stay until our second was born….and then my in-and-off life in the classroom began, ending officially in February 2017. I DID blog about leaving Cookeville in 2015 and it’s pretty reflective: https://jennisseasons.blogspot.com/2015/03/goodbyes.html
    Anyway, thanks for this – and the list of questions. Always good to reflect, I think. I guess blogging does that for both of us 🙂

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