Mrs. L., can you tell me.......

The nice thing about teaching is, that everyday you get the opportunity to make a new start. Yesterday wasn't fabulous, but today was new, so we started fresh. First thing, finish the damn testing!! Which, as of today, has been completed, and awaits being turned in at the administration building. I am not certain who is happier to be finished, the students or the teacher. Today, after these many weeks, I finally, actually, taught a lesson. It felt so good. I felt inspired and my students seemed very happy to see the beginning of the routine start anew. Now, with just four months to go until the end of the school year, there is much to accomplish! Now is a good time to reflect upon all of my goals, set new ones, and see what I can do better in the future. The lessons are many, the time short, and the pace is becoming recognizable. My after school students really carried me today. They come voluntarily to work out projects, learn and relearn concepts that continue to baffle them, and to know that they have a safe place to put forth their ideas and receive honest, yet positive reinforcement. I see the hard work that they do. Sometimes, they are disappointed in my response, since I generally throw the question back at them, albeit, in a slightly different phrasing, so that they can work out the answers themselves. It is in this way, that I believe, they will best retain the information, rather than recalling that their teacher always gave them the correct answer. Often, we laugh about it. But, in the end, they make themselves proud when they realize that they, not I, have figured out the solution.