Year 2- The Highlights
Hey all its been awhile!
This year has been one heck of a ride. I thought it would only be appropriate that my first post back be about the highlights I’ve had with my new group of kiddos some of the awesome experiences I’ve had along the way. I hope to have you all caught up soon on the Kasty Adventures both inside and outside the classroom.
Ok! So here we go, Year 2 highlights!
These highlights include things I’ve learned, an introduction to my kiddos, and some celebrations that deserve to be acknowledged. It’s a little lengthy but who doesn’t love some happiness!
I could probably go on forever about my kids this year and I’m sure another post will be about them but for now this is what I’ve got! Now that I have more time I promise I will keep this more updated- to ensure this, I added more ideas to what you might want to hear about on the survey page, so check it out!
This year has been one heck of a ride. I thought it would only be appropriate that my first post back be about the highlights I’ve had with my new group of kiddos some of the awesome experiences I’ve had along the way. I hope to have you all caught up soon on the Kasty Adventures both inside and outside the classroom.
Ok! So here we go, Year 2 highlights!
These highlights include things I’ve learned, an introduction to my kiddos, and some celebrations that deserve to be acknowledged. It’s a little lengthy but who doesn’t love some happiness!
- Jumping to conclusions- As my second year of teaching began I heard many different reviews, whether it be about the students coming up, how different year two compared to year one is, what my students are going to struggle with, how I will change as a teacher. From the very beginning I tried to go into year 2 with blinders. Blocking out anything I heard, because honestly, regardless of what information you receive, I don’t think anything is predictable when it comes to teaching. Despite my best efforts it was hard for me to not jump to conclusions about this group.
Then I met them. They exceeded every idea I had in my mind. This group was filled with comics, engineers, mathleets, athletic stars, student exemplars, geniuses, inventors, kind and loving kids. There were many times this year, I looked out at my kiddos and thought “I am in the presence of some awesome humans, what did I do to get this job?” - My kids were amazing! They all had their little quirks, ups and downs, but mostly they amount to some great young adults. This group is one of a kind and does not apologize for simply being who they are. I was in awe daily of their confidence, joy, sass and honesty (some more than others with that last one). Not to say I didn’t have my ups and downs with them- I’ll let you in on that a bit later- But the relationships I was able to make with these students were so easy and so worth while. Everyday these students made me smile. I know that sounds cheesy but with 120 kids coming in and out of your classroom you are bound to smile at least once a day.
They had a great skill of making me crack a smile especially when they just make me frustrated. I swear they would band together, come up with a plan and crack me. Whether it was by scaring me, telling me stupid jokes, making me get of tangents about my cat or boy bands, telling other kids to come and apologize to me, or even them coming to say they were sorry. Ultimately, they gave me a fresh start every day just like I did them and if you can't tell, it's only the first full week without them and I’m going through withdrawls. - Mentoring- Last year I began mentoring one of my students (Remember that post about Lil’ Skit). This year we continued meeting once a week after school and I can easily say, even though this my first full year of mentoring, it has been one of the more rewarding things I get to do. I don’t have to be just her teacher any more. I get to also be her friend. As she gets promoted to high school we will continue meeting until graduation!
- Swearing- Swearing became a problem early on with some of my kiddos. They used it so leasurily that I was honestly in awe of all the possible ways. So to combat this issue, instead of writing students up, I would say they owed me 3 other words they could have used. They HATED it. This happened so frequently in my classroom by the time winter break came, I would simply say “You owe me” and 100% of the students that would swear in the hall, class or outside would respond: “Shoot, Darn, Dang, oochie, ouchie, oochie ouchie.” (The oochie ouchie was added mainly because it’s so funny to hear them say it.) Soon enough the saying spread far and wide that even other students were telling each other they owed them because “They won’t be in the presence of a mouth like that”.
I could probably go on forever about my kids this year and I’m sure another post will be about them but for now this is what I’ve got! Now that I have more time I promise I will keep this more updated- to ensure this, I added more ideas to what you might want to hear about on the survey page, so check it out!