Our Open House was last Thursday. I was encouraged at the number of kids and parents who came out to the school. I bet I had 15-20 students who came by. Everyone seemed upbeat and ready for school to start.
Of course, I have one year of teaching behind me. In light of that year, I have compiled a list of
Things I Want to do Differently This Year:
- I want to start the year off more organized. Last year, I tried to be organized, but because half the time I had no idea what I was doing, I often made up assignments on the fly. Then I didn't emphasize enough the projects that I really wanted to be done well (like their binders). This year, I am probably going to spend half a class period just discussing the binders (what needs to go in them and exactly how they need to be organized).
- I want to be more encouraging. I started off cheerful and optimistic last year, but as the year went by, and I got bogged down in teacher stuff, I became, well, a grouch. It took me half the summer to recognize and get over that. I am going to watch my attitude, pray a lot, and do my best to keep smiling this year.
- I want to be more helpful to low-performing students. I had several kids who failed last year, and while some of them did very little or no work, and thus probably couldn't be helped, there were some who I could have worked with more. I am going to try to identify the failing kids early on in the semester and get them the help that they need to pass my class.
- I want to share Jesus with my students. Yes, I know that the classroom is not a place to "preach," but I have many many opportunities to share my faith and my moral values with my students on a daily basis. I want to be open to those opportunities. I want them to know that I am who I am because Jesus is who He is. I want them to know that they can have God's peace and joy in their lives too. (Another reason why I need to work on #3.)
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