Week 2 of Teaching: Learning and Growing

So I have officially been a teacher for two weeks now. If you had told me something like that a year ago, I would have said you were CRAZY. Funny how God works, huh?

My second week was completely different than the first, in both good and bad ways. My students started talking!!! On Monday morning, I held the classroom door open for the kids, and as they walked in, several of them greeted me with a "Good morning, Ms. Young." Sure, they were still super sleepy and not too enthused to be there, but progress had been made! You have to understand, my kids were practically mute the first week of class, so for them to voluntarily speak to me is incredible. I also had more than one or two kids raising their hands to participate. The number of hands raised this week easily grew from 2 to 4. Once again, it's the small victories. Of course, while I was totally pumped this week that my kids were being more vocal, this also meant having to be a little more strict on my part. Kids being more open = kids being more chatty with each other and blurting out instead of raising hands. So while I was thrilled to hear my kids' voices, I also had to be more intentional about discipline. Not easy to do when you have precious little kids with round faces and braces smiling at you every time you call on them. Gahhhh....my heart melts every time I even think about it!

I also tried to be more creative this week and bring my energy level up, something my CMA (basically my TFA coach for Institute) has talked to me about a lot. At first, this seemed kind of problematic to me, considering my entire life I have been super serious, calm, and straightforward in the way I communicate with other people. How was I supposed to suddenly act hyper and crazy and excited for my students who are basically dead at 8 am?!? Well...as terrifying and uncomfortable as it was on Monday morning, I made my best attempt at being basically the opposite of my usual self. I started the morning off with a rap all about Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots. The way my kids looked at me when the song first started was as though I was an alien...but within 1 minute, every child's eyes were glued to the computer screen. Amazing how a lame educational rap can get students engaged!! Haha! So I put that down on my list of things to remember.

Tuesday, we started out the morning with a  video clip from the movie Elf to introduce faulty reasoning. Now, you may be asking, "Mallory...how in the world does the movie Elf help kids with something so strange as faulty reasoning?" Well let me just tell you....Remember the most glorious part of the film where Buddy the Elf is exploring New York City for the very first time and he strolls past a sign that says "World's Best Cup of Coffee?"....are you catching on yet?....He rushes in and says "Wow! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Good work everybody!" Now...is that nasty little cafe really the home of the world's best cup of coffee? Probably not. But my kids giggled watching Buddy and then were able to talk to me about how the advertisement had tricked him. My kids don't want to be like Buddy...so we spent the class learning how not to be fooled. Amazing isn't it?!? Just one minute long clip had my kids sold on the idea that we needed to learn about faulty reasoning. Praise the Lord for technology!!! That day, my kids also got to participate in a Gallery Walk. This is a strategy TFA is all about! I put four posters around the room, each with a blown up photo of an advertisement. The students had to rotate from poster to poster in groups, taking time to write about which type of faulty reasoning they thought the ad represented and why. They loved being able to move around, and it gave them time to think about it on their own and then share with a group! I got notes from them all week about how they want to do that again. Love it!!!

There are some things that I've really been struggling with but have definitely been learning a lot about at Institute. Ultimately, it is all about the kids. They are the reason I'm here. They are the reason I teach. But it's kind of crazy how much I've been growing myself.

1. Be true to who you are!!!

So this was a struggle for me the first 2 weeks. I am very confident with myself and my personality, but when you are constantly getting feedback on your teaching and your lesson planning, and when you are hearing about all these incredible examples of teachers who are changing students' lives, it is so hard to remember who I am as a person and as a teacher. I am Ms. Young. Sometimes I'm very straightforward with my students. I make corny jokes that my students sometimes think are lame. My biggest pet peeve is kids with their heads down on their desks. I love reading to my kids, and I love hearing them read. I hate punishing my kids, even though I know sometimes it's necessary. I love picking up my kids in the auditorium and chatting with them about their nights. Ultimately, I don't dance around the room and go crazy, but my kids know I care about them anyway.

2. Going along with number 1....don't compare yourself to others!!!

We are constantly bombarded with videos of these incredible teachers whose kids are chomping at the bit to answer questions and participate. Their kids are having a blast learning (what?...). It's hard to watch and wonder how I'll ever get to the point. Ultimately I have to focus on my teaching and my kids, because it really is all about them. I can't let my need to compare myself to others distract me from the real goal here, which is to help my students.

3. Learn how to reflect and process things on your own without relying on others.

This one sounds strange, I know, but one of my biggest struggles at Institute is not the planning, it's not the teaching, it's not even struggling to stay awake during the never-ending sessions. My biggest struggle has been knowing how to respond to this crazy, chaotic, completely new situation without having people to listen to and react to my thoughts and struggles. Aaron has been gone for 3 weeks, and we have had absolutely zero communication. I've written him three letters with no response, but it was hard to talk much about my experience, because I know he's having a hard time right now. I miss him more than I ever realized I could miss a person. He always has something positive and encouraging to say when I'm stressed or discouraged, and it has been so hard not having that during one of the hardest months of my life. One of my best friends, Kayla, has been away in Honduras for a month, so I couldn't really talk to her either. That leaves only my family, which is obviously a huge blessing, but they work and have things going on, so it's hard sometimes to need to talk right in that moment and be forced to just reflect on it internally without having anyone to vent to. Basically, my point is that I have learned a little more about how to better reflect on my own experiences and struggles and respond to them on my own. I still cannot wait to have Aaron and Kayla back in my life, but I know now that regardless of what happens, I can work on myself without needing to always hear the words of others. With that being said, I REALLY WANT MY FRIEND AND BOYFRIEND TO COME BACK!!!! HURRY UP!!!!!    :)

It's Sunday afternoon, which means it's time to wrap up planning and prepping for tomorrow and Tuesday. Many of us have found it getting much harder to get motivated as Institute wraps up, so please pray that our excitement for these kids would push us through! Please also continue praying for my students, as I continue to find out more about where they come from and what they have gone through. Pray that they would positively respond these last few days of instruction and would know that they are capable of achieving so much more than they've ever realized. Missing everyone back home! Until next time!