Contrary to what people may say about teachers having it easy because they can leave work at 3pm and they get the summers off, teaching is anything but an easy profession!

The first 6 weeks of school were always the hardest. Those 6 weeks were the “training period”. My goal during that time wasn’t so much about teaching children how to read and write and do math but it was about teaching the students how I expected my students to behave in my classroom so that the rest of the school year could be spent on teaching and not so much on behavior issues.

The first thing my students learned from me wasn’t a reading or writing strategy. The first thing my students learned from me was that I demanded their respect. My students had no choice but to respect me and the other students in their class.

I would come home drained at the end of the day those first 6 weeks because, as you can imagine, 8 and 9 year old children are going to test their limits. And some knew how to test those limits more than others!

I loved academically teaching my students but even more than that I loved teaching my students about character – who you are when no one is watching.

One of the hardest things for me to learn how to handle was a child who had lied. Angele was a master at digging and finding the truth and getting a child to confess the truth. The lesson that child learned was that it was always better to just tell the truth so you avoid double consequences.

Eventually, after listening and observing Angele handle many “lying cases” :) I learned the technique and was able to teach my students that it was better to tell the truth than to lie about it and get more in trouble.

Another aspect I loved about teaching was that I taught at a “rough” school, let’s just say. Parent involvement was rare and many of my students seriously lacked a structured home life.

One of my main goals as a teacher was to provide a structured, safe learning environment for my students. I loved providing a safe haven for students who, when they walked out my classroom door, left behind all stability and structure in their lives.

I firmly believe children thrive on knowing what is expected from them, feeling safe, and having some type of daily routine. My students received all three and I loved being able to give this to them.

This was my second class! {Shhhh…they were my favorite} This group of kids were just SO MUCH FUN! This year was probably my favorite of the four years I taught.

- Elaine