Simply

One thing that's been on my mind recently is the idea that I'm "too soft" of a teacher. This really bothered me the first few times I've heard it. I've had a few teachers imply this but not directly say it, and I've had two kids directly say it to me.  I distinctly remember it being my mission to try and be less "soft" in middle school and high school. I felt like I was a people pleaser or a push over and I hated it. And I have come a long way to what I believe is a good balance for me. So I was curious why these comments at school made me so mad. I guess I was so mad because I feel like I'm constantly trying to not be perceived that way?  I've come to realize that even though my classroom procedures and expectations are pretty strict, I am more of a soft person in the way that I speak and interact with the kids. There was this one day where I was so mad that I was yelling at the kids about how disappointed I was in their behavior. I felt...

 I have officially 13 days left of teaching before I go on my break! I am staying at Durant for at least one more year and am staying in 7th grade. I'm feeling very excited for this year to be over! There are some changes happening next year that I'm excited about. Subject Change There is a lot of movement in teachers this year and my principal asked me if I'd be willing to switch to teaching Social Studies instead of ELA. At first I was shocked and didn't feel like I could just switch. I have been working so much with the ELA curriculum and my materials so that next year would be a breeze, but switching would mean that I would start over with completely brand new curriculum. I told him I was willing but I honestly just needed time to think about it. After talking with the other teachers, they really got me excited for what this change could look like. I would no longer be teaching a tested subject, which means I can adjust the curriculum and lessons more than I could w...

 Teaching has to be the one of the biggest emotional roller coasters out there. Especially when you're at a school like mine. I know I've talked about the title 1 life a few times on here, but recently it's been feeling a little different. Let me explain. There's always challenges with teaching in general, and even more at a title 1 school, but sometimes it all feels like a lot. Let me explain.  Usually the challenges have to do with children with chronic absences, minimal funding, absent parents, and a lack of admin support. And don't get me wrong, all of these challenges are still happening, but somehow there's new ones.  First, there are a few boys from my 2nd class of the day that are my behavior kiddos, but we've always had a good relationship. They mess around in class, I redirect constantly, they never do work, but when we are conversating, there is no bad blood and the good relationship is there. The problem is, that admin has not handled things well...