About this time last year I was about to quit teaching. I came home every day defeated. I couldn't get my head around what was going right in the classroom, only what was going wrong. No matter how much support I got from my administration and coworkers I still felt like I was failing at my job. They all tried to help me see the good going on in my classroom, but it didn't help. I no longer felt I was good at what I did. I felt I was cheating my class out of having a good teacher. I had a tough class, but believed that if I was truly a good teacher I shouldn't have a problem with them. I became paranoid about what was being said behind my back in the teachers' lounge since I couldn't even walk my kids down the hall without someone breaking out of line and doing something disastrous and embarassing. I was about to hang up education all together.
I started blogging after randomly coming across Tree and Jenny's blogs and realized that education blogging was out there. Typing out all of my thoughts, ideas, and reflections was a huge breath of fresh air. All of a sudden I was reflecting on my year and realizing all of the aspects that went right. Blogging put everything into perspective. It made me laugh at my kids and myself when I needed to laugh, and more importantly made me articulate exactly what had gone right in my lessons. It helped me reflect when lessons went poorly while still helping me see the good that was there. It has linked me to other educators all over the world. And for times like these, :) , :) it made me look at life as a story instead of a disaster.
I didn't start blogging until May of last year and I wonder if I had started sooner if I would still be in the classroom this year. Maybe not. It was time for a change. But maybe it would have helped me have a fresh look at my role as teacher sooner.
Today my school held a fantastic staff meeting on blogging. I really hope more of my coworkers develop their own blogs. I look forward to reading their own thoughts and adventures!
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