Step 22: The "perfect storm"

 Monday, 3/14

  Losing 1 hour of the weekend
  Darker morning wake up
  Dreary rain
  Cold season
+Monday
________________________
"The perfect storm"


Truly it is not usually any great stretch to "stay positive" in my reflections on this blog. I can honestly and enthusiastically say that I am enjoying my time in the classroom, experiencing real growth as a teacher, and loving the city of Philadelphia. And yet Mondays can be very hard! (And, let's be real, so can Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, or even Fridays...) This term, student teaching really is a full-time job; and along with the fantastic highs of this role, also come daily trials. Today's efforts to get students' heads up off of their desks and their brains focused on math in the late afternoon were particularly tiresome when I, myself, also would have loved a break! In these tough days, my relationships with my Classroom Mentor, Penn Mentor, and friends in my cohort are invaluable. It was actually my fantastic Penn Mentor (a retired teacher who visits me weekly to observe, provide advice, and overall act as my fairy godmother of the program) who pointed out how dramatically the cards were stacked against us yesterday - and yet she provided great solace in my day, both by helping me to strategize ways to engage my students, and also just by lending a caring and compassionate ear to my trials of the day. Similarly, it was comforting to check in with my classmates today and hear that I was not at all alone in feeling "off" yesterday. In fact, I cannot emphasize enough how important sharing the experiences of this whole year with my classmates has been. From quick texts to long library study sessions, they are always there to get me through the tough days and projects, and I couldn't dream of doing it without them!