Personal Life

This past week, I spent the last couple of days of the week thinking about how students needs must be met before we can truly teach them.  I have heard this is many classes, and am truly seeing that play out here.  While this is true in American schools as well, I have seen many instances of students being unprepared for learning as they enter the classroom in the morning.  Some students come hungry, cold, lonely, or dirty to school.  Try teaching a student when their basic needs aren’t met, and it’s like trying to swim a mile upstream; tiring, difficult, and altogether worthless. 

I have learned many strategies of how to help ensure that students needs are met in the morning, and how to address those who may need assistance without making them feel alienated.  But the big difference is that almost all of the students have a general understanding of how it feels to be in such situations that many students are in.  So the level of understanding is not something that must be taught, rather it comes quite naturally, making the task of providing for each child much simpler.  I love the sense of community that my kids have, the general love and respect they have for each other (most of the time). 

But then I also spent time thinking about how this is true for me as a teacher as well.  My cooperating teacher has often come to school carrying her own personal problems with her, and I have seen it affect the class in both positive and negative ways.  In the same way, I have seen my attitude and energy level in the classroom change based on my personal life as well.  In the same way as with my students, I need to be sure that my basic needs are met before I enter the classroom as well.  If I neglect to do so, how am I supposed to care for and teach all of these children during the day? 

In the end of this week, I went to school with a lot on my mind.  While this is not necessarily a bad thing, I realized that I need to find ways to clear my head before I enter the classroom.  Yes, my students do serve as large support in many ways, but it is also unfair for me to let my unmet needs or personal thoughts affect the way I interact with them.  Each teacher needs to find their own way to reflect, work through, and process all the positives and negatives life will throw your way.  Having strong support systems, going for a jog, writing, singing, playing music, reading, knitting, etc;  all can be great ways to help separate work and home. 

Tonight, because I have finally reached a greater comfort level in my surrounding neighborhood, I went for my first run on the mountain.  I will not bore you with little details, but the combination of creation, the sunset, the feeling of exhaustion, and the burning in my muscles brought me such a feeling of relief and joy.  Finding ways to release the stresses of life and work, as well as finding time to get away and give thoughts time to process is so beneficial to the body, mind, and soul.