Today was the first day back! After a snow day beginning our break, a peaceful, fun and restful break followed! And I was optimistic to get a lot done before going back today, I definitely waited until Sunday to get started!
It felt like the first day of school today as I was driving. I felt nervous and scared! Like I didn't know what I was doing. And then I remembered this is often what my students in middle school feel like daily.
I've learned a lot about middle school kids these few months- and while they still drive me nuts, I will miss them if in a few weeks I won't get to be with them everyday. Besides the many pedagogical things I've learned from them, here are a few others:
- Relax. And breathe. Things are never as bad as they first seem.
- Take it one step at a time. And always try to start at step 1. ( This one IS very pedagogical)
- When you don't know what is going on, you get nervous. Hence the life of a 7th grader is full of chaos and nerves.
- Build a community from the start. Give and get respect, and demand that they give it to each other as well.
- We all need a reminder to be prepared.
- Do one thing at a time and do it well instead of doing multiple things with little quality.
- Always label and file your papers! Be organized! It helps so much more when you want to do the activity again.
- Always redo, rethink, reinvent and recharge. It helps keeps things fresh and pushes you to grow professionally AND personally.
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