I love the students!

I had the best day substituting on Friday.  The kids were so well-behaved.  I think it's because I've subbed for them several times so they know they can't trick me.  :)  It was such a great day because I got to see a lot of my old students.  Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I've had a lot of people ask me when I'll go back to teaching and what I miss the most.  The answers are: I don't know when I'll be back.  I've thought that maybe I'll go back when my kids are all grown up.  What do I miss the most?  Well, that's easy...the students.  Yes, there were hard kids.  Yes, there were days I went home and cried.  Yes, there were days that I was overwhelmed....quite a few, but the students made it all worth it.

I had two students come to the classroom that I was subbing in after school to come talk to me.  They made my day.  They told me how nice and funny I was.  They told me how they wished I would come back to the school and be their teacher for next year.  That's one of the best things about being a teacher, all the love you feel.  Students were constantly drawing pictures, writing notes, giving tight hugs, and bringing in gifts...like flowers they picked on their way to school or an apple from their home.  They made me feel so loved and appreciated.  There were days that their notes were just what I needed when I was having a tough day.

There's a ton of pressure as a teacher to stay on schedule so you can get through all the content.  There's not a lot of time for extra comments.  A student would start to tell me a story during the middle of a math lesson and I would tell them, "I would love to hear about that during recess."  They would usually forget...
I wish I could take that back.  Since becoming a mother, I've realized something that I didn't fully understand before.....these students that I care about are someone else's babies.  Their parents' world.  When you get angry at a student for goofing off, stop and think, "How can I stop and correct this child's behavior in a loving way so they're more upset about their behavior than my reaction?"


If I could go back, I would have spent more time listening to my students.  I would have tried to get to know them on a deeper level.  You can't be a good teacher, unless you know your students.  They need to know that you care about them.  One way I got to know my students better was to have a writing center.  Every Monday, they would write me a letter about their weekend.  It was one of my favorite things to grade.  :)

I love those kids.  They were my kids before I had kids.  Even the hard ones...I love and miss!  They made me grow the most and taught me how to be better teacher.