Back to School Night

I have been having a pretty hard week at school because I feel like I am having to be really stern and mean when all I want to do is be fun and silly. I know it is important to show the kids that I am serious and to really train them to do what I want them to do, but I still feel a bit exhausted by the end of the day because of it.

I was talking to Derek the other night and I was almost in tears because I want to be the teacher that makes a difference in kids' lives. I don't remember anything I learned from elementary school, but I remember how my teachers made me feel. I want my students to know that I love and care for them and I want to make them feel wonderful, but it is hard because I kind of have to be Mrs. Strict! I have a really tough class, behaviorally, so I know that I need to get a handle on it now or it will haunt me the rest of the year, but it's just hard!

Anyway, I was feeling like I was being way too mean and that none of the kids would know that I truly loved being around them. Derek was trying to reassure me, but you know how that goes! "You're my husband so you're supposed to say those things, but I know that you are wrong and I want to pout and moan and feel sorry for myself!"

Well, I got the reassurance that I really wanted tonight at Back to School Night. I had several parents come up and tell me that their kids were so excited to have me as their teacher, that they loved getting up for school in the morning and that they really enjoyed school already this year! What? I feel like I'm being this mean old witch, but the kids are seeing that I do really care for them and that is why I have to set boundaries! The best part of all of this is that one of the parents that told me this was the parent of the boy that is my hardest behavior issue. He and I have been working hard to turn his behavior around and for the most part, he has actually taken great strides (even though it's only been a week) so I was glad to hear from his mom that he likes me as his teacher. I always feel bad when I have to call him out but at least he knows that I am doing it to help him and not to be mad at him.

I have already set up an after-school-homework-help session with one of the kids and I am really excited about that too. This is the reason I became a teacher! I want to help kids succeed and if I need to take time after school to do that, I don't care one bit!

So, that's that! I was really excited to hear some of the nice things that the parents had to say to me and it was just really good to meet some of them.