I love my work....but I love the rest of my life too.
So it is a bit of a surprise that my top five this week is about my top 5 work moments. I got home Thursday and felt so proud of the work my teachers did this week and any little part I might have had in it.
1. I watched one of my teachers teach an amazing reading mini-lesson. It wasn't just the content of the lesson but the dignity and kindness she showed her students. I left that classroom wishing my daughter could be in that classroom. I sent the teacher my feedback and sang her praises. I don't know what was going on but I got a response back saying my words had some good timing.
2. I watched a class meeting in a classroom that was hard for me to watch. To say there are some tough kids in the class is a huge understatement. The teacher knew it wasn't going well and when she came back from taking her kids to PE we talked a lot about ways to make it easier for her to manage those kids. With a promise to come back the next day and some strategies to try, I left wishing their was more I could do. When I came back the next day, it was better because the teacher made it better. Her resilence amazed me.
3. I was in another classroom where the teacher was wearing little wings. Like the kind that Taelin wears when she is pretending to be a butterfly or a fairy. I have seen her wear them before and I wasn't ever sure why she wore them. But when one of her students answered her question in Spanish she said, "Remember, we have our bilingual wings on. Answer in English this time." Bilingual wings. I loved it.
4. I sat and had a conversation with a teacher that was feeling so overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with everything and a crabby note from a parent and an offhanded comment from a coworker did not help matters any. It took a little while but before I left we had composed a note back to the parent and prioritized the things on her massive to-do list. I did good work in that hour.
5. Many of my teachers were observed by their principals this week. The middle of February is when all probationary teachers have their evaluations completed for the year (seems early bit they have their reasons I suppose). Anyway, I have a teacher whose principal had a long list of expectations after the last observation. The teacher and I have been working hard to making those things a reality. That teacher had an observation on Thursday and it went so well. The teacher texted me a picture of the email she got from her principal and the principal sent me an email too! I was so proud of our work together!
I guess all in all, I felt like my job mattered this week. A lot. Who doesn't love that.
Just as you tell us, Jodie, all your amazing work doesn't shine through in the most obvious ways- but the work you are doing makes all the difference. I am grateful to have you be my "cheerleader" this year. Thank you.
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