On teaching

Today is my first Monday back to work without children. I have finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been one of the longest and trying years I have had with my job, since I started a little over three years ago. I have worked hard to stay patient and understanding, especially to the children. There are times when I felt like I had reached the end of my rope but still I have pushed myself through these days of being not only mentally, but physically exhausted. I have learned a lot with my new placement within the program. I have to look at the pros of the whole experience. I have grew a lot as a person through my job. It's something I can actually see in myself every day. There are many of times I dislike and become fed up with my job just as much as the next person, but I have to remind myself how blessed I am to have a job, at all. Perhaps even more importantly, I should reflect on the lives I hope I have touched while trying to create a solid foundation for these children's own lives. Even more so than just the education they receive, the trust they put in me to steer them forward on the right path.Now I will begin my new job duties for the summer of endless recruiting, thorough cleaning, intense training, and so on. I am trying my hardest to keep up with the blogging. It's been a terrific outlet for not just my creativity but as a way for me to step back and look at my life through fresh and positive eyes. With that being said, I heard this quote below during a past training and I like to keep it tucked safely in the back of my mind when I notice I am in need of a new perspective.

“I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child be humanized or dehumanized.”
— Haim Ginott


xo, Linds