a small space for big thoughts

In a normal year, I relish the brief quiet moments in my day that allow me to really take it all in. I get a chance to evaluate my teaching and adjust as needed. I get a chance to think, “Wow! I get to do this every day!” I feel a sort of calm that allows me to appreciate the opportunity that I get to teach students in a subject that I’m super passionate about.  Nowadays, I despise the quiet. It makes me think, “What else can I do?” or “Are they even learning?” or, my personal favorite, “Are they here with me?”.   Yesterday, I hit a brick wall and I broke down. It was half way through my day. I had just finished reading through a  cultural lesson about bullfighters. I asked a question using all of my strategies that my other class was able to answer. I received no response. Not a verbal response and not even a response in the chat. No one had their cameras on, and I felt entirely alone.  While I think it’s important to talk about the mental health of our students, I ...

I finally did it. I turned off my email notifications from the hours of 5 pm - 8 pm on weeknights and all weekend. I've never been one to put up good boundaries when it comes to separating my personal and school obligations, but I knew that I needed to do it.  I also didn't work on schoolwork at all this past weekend! That is a HUGE accomplishment for me.  Last week was another rough week of even less participation and more failing grades. I was frustrated with my students and just this whole situation we are in right now.  Everyone is!  I explained to all of my classes all of the things that I'm doing to help them succeed but feel that they are not doing their part. Time will tell if that makes any change in some of their work habits.  I've also been working on finding other ways to find my joy again through this weird year. I've got a game plan of the reading extension activities that I want to put together for teachers working with thematic units! I'm really ...