Success!
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| Celebrating my successful painting! |
I've noticed, as a teacher, I can get bogged down in the day to day work of teaching and forget to celebrate student successes. As we approach the end of the first quarter, I want to stop and notice growth and success.
1. Three students finished books yesterday.
2. One student who refused to write earlier in the year picked writing as a choice activity.
3. Another student who had been withdrawn from class participated wholly.
4. I noticed students working out differences as they collaborated on a project.
5. On more than one occasion, I saw students treating each other with kindness.
6. A student who had been very quiet easily shared with the whole class.
7. Groups worked together to finish planning on a challenging project. I saw the groups working through disagreements and finishing.
Teaching is hard. Being a student is hard. It's important to stop and notice the successes..big and small. I'm proud of my students. On my desk at school, I have a small notebook where I write and reflect on each day as it ends. It's helped me notice more even though I forget to write in it some days.
Take a moment and think. What successes can you find in your own work, in your own classroom?
This post is for my writing goal for #TeachWritetober for TeachWrite. This post is also a slice for the Two Writing Teachers Blog.
Yay for those successes! And, man, it is so hard all around. There was a moment yesterday that I felt like crying (not tears of joy) looking at all the students who were off-task and knowing I just couldn't help them in that moment. One of me- 26 third graders- who come with complicated life stories and their own academic strengths and needs. The mountain feels impossible to climb. Yet everyday, I gather my climbing gear and try to get a little further up the mountain, a toe hold where I couldn't find one before. This post reminds me to make sure I look for the times that things went right. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt's complicated. But so rewarding when we stop, breathe, smell the roses, and name our joys! What a great list focusing on assets!
ReplyDeleteOctober is so real! Seems lots of us are feeling the hard- thanks for the reminder to focus on the successes.
ReplyDeleteYou have really inspired me to get out the watercolors and get them into my journal! I was playing with the painted essay last week and have paints now. Thanks for all your great work always and the reflections. I love to read your blog.
ReplyDeleteIt is so important to celebrate achievements large and small. Noticing the successes that occur in and out of my classroom is what gets me through the hardest days.
ReplyDeleteWhat an important post, Michelle. The focus on success, both big and small, is a part of what keeps us moving forward, I believe. It is an important practice, especially for teachers, to find those golden moments that are sometimes buried in the work. Thank you for reminding us to take time and notice the good.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to get bogged down in the problems and obstacles in teaching. This post is a good reminder to stop and look for the successes! We've had some difficulties in my library lately, but there have been some awesome moments of connection, too. I needed that smile this morning!
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