Wiped Out

Full disclosure: I’m not perfect. There…I said it. 

I usually post about cool things happening in my class, but in no way is my classroom awesome and cool all the time.  And there hasn’t been much of that lately anyway because…

I. Am. Wiped. Out.   

It took me a lot longer this year to figure out WHY that is than in years past. 

I expend too much energy thinking for my students. Problem solving for my students. Feeling the pain of their failure. And in doing that I’ve been robbing them of a valuable learning experience. I just got too caught up in the pacing of the curriculum and the parent pressure of, “What else can you do for my kid that you’re not already knocking yourself out to do?” Shame on me. 

Yesterday this all dawned on me, so instead of responding to their cries of, “This was hard so I didn’t do it!” with my usual exasperated, “Oh my gosh you guys! How are you going to learn anything if you don’t try?”, I chose to look at them and say, “Okay. Thank you.” And we moved on anyway. 

I decry the enablers, and here I’ve been one of them all along! No more, I say! NO MORE! 

I feel free now. It’s an amazing feeling.