First year Reflections

I was really bad this past year at reflecting on my practice as a whole. I was good at planning a lesson and then reflecting on it's efficacy. However, that is a small snapshot of what teachers do, especially special education teachers. I'm hoping that by having this blog it will force me to reflect on all facets of being a teacher.

Below are some things I learned in my first year of teaching:

1. Ask for HELP! This is something I had to learn fast. I have no background or education (other than one masters level class) in special education. I had to learn fast because I had to write an IEP, which is a legally binding document, within the first week of school. I couldn't have done that without help. Luckily I have the most awesomest colleagues around and they were very willing to walk me through whatever it was I needed to learn to be a special education teacher. 
2. Nothing is ever 100% perfect. As a bit of a self proclaimed perfectionist, this one was hard for me to learn. However, agonizing over worksheets, lesson plans, journal prompts, etc for too long can lead to diminishing returns. What I mean is losing sleep because your journal prompts aren't 100% perfect and pretty and thought provoking is silly cause your students need you at your best. At some point, the effort you put into something to try to make it 100% perfect isn't worth the marginal gain.
3. Start out hard. Just like everyone told me it would be, it was much harder to start out nice and then try to batten down the hatches later in the year. One of my professors in grad school told me that she didn't smile at her students till after Christmas break. I still think that's a little on the extreme side but her sentiment is correct. If you give the students and inch they will take a mile or 10. This bullet could also have been called "It's ok to be a little scary". This was something my lacrosse girls taught me- sometimes your have to lose your mind a bit to be taken seriously- especially if you didn't start out hard. (this is where the comprehensive classroom management plan will come into play).
4. Small changes can equal big results.  As a special education teacher I got to see some of the smallest changes make the biggest difference for students. One example I can think of is we had a student who was struggling to finish her tests, even in her extended time. She also wasn't performing as well on her exams as we thought she should. We started only giving her 1 page of the tests at a time- what a difference it made! She was much less anxious and was able to decrease the amount of time and perform better! I always will refer back to this when I think there is no hope or I am frustrated with lack of progress- sometimes it's just a little change!
5. Plan during your planning periods. This one seems so self-explanatory; however, it is something that I continued to struggle with on a daily basis. It so much easier to give in to the temptation of socializing during your planning periods. Also I shared a room with 4 other teacher, making it a social hub. Also my school is growing so much that all classrooms need to be used- so most likely during your planning periods you have other classes in your classroom. It's harder to plan and get other teacher related work done if that is that case than you think. I will hopefully be better about this next year.
6. Fake it till you make it! Your students will know if you are having an off day. Your colleagues will know if you are having an off day. There will be times where you want to sit in the dark and cry- those are the times that you just have to Fake it till you make it. 
7. What you say matters. Students are always listening- ALWAYS! This is hard for me to remember all the time because I can be a tad sarcastic. You always have to be intentional with what you say because you can really hurt a students feelings. Or a colleague for that matter. But also keep this in mind because when you give out praise, everyone is listening too. You can really make someones day by being genuinely kind and praising them. 
8. Be organized- somehow. It doesn't how but find a way that works for you! I used the Erin Condren Teacher Planner last year and bought another one for next year. I am the type of person who has to write EVERYTHING down or I won't remember it. 
9. Don't create everything from scratch. To be honest this is just such a waste of time, there are so many awesome resources out there for teachers. But this ties back into the perfectionist tendencies- I want it the way I want it. 

Please let me know what you think!

Nightmare!

I had a nightmare earlier this week. It really was more of an anxiety dream than a nightmare. I dreamed that it was time for pre-planning to start and I hadn't checked anything off my summer to-do list!! I know, sounds TERRIFYING! Below is most of my summer to-do list (this a living list that changes often):

• Review Chemistry subjects to be prepared to teach it 
• Plan some INB pages for chemistry
• Read CHAMPS classroom management book provided by my school
• Read The First Days of School by Harry Wong
• Make as comprehensive of a classroom management plan as I can
• Write more blog posts
• Read for fun
• Find a work-out plan that I can stick to
• Start an Essential Oils journal
• Read a couple of the other teacher books I have acquired
• Figure out my savings plan (never too early to plan for retirement?)
• Work at my part time summer job

The problem with most of these items is that they aren't just easily checked off- they are on going projects. 

The first 5 items are really important to me because I want to start this year feeling ahead of the game. This past year I always felt behind, which is a hard way to teach. It can be exhausting. I want next year to be different!  Wish me luck!