Do you ever stop during the day at some point and say to yourself, "What in the hell did I get myself into?" Oh, yeah. I've had a lot of those moments lately. I've had some issues in my classroom with some behaviors. You would think a former Emotionally Disturbed teacher would be well aware of behaviors. And, I am - on bigger kids. It's a whole new ballgame when they are 3!! Holy crap. These kiddos are wearing me out. Today, I had another round of "Seriously...what the hell.." and was about to just lose my mind. And then, it happened. I got an "Ahhh...THAT is why I keep at it" moment.
One of my students does not speak English. He also doesn't speak Chinese, so nobody to communicate with in the room. He has not said much to me all year, except naming shapes. Lately, he's been opening up to me a lot more, and trying to learn new words. He points to something, I say the word, he repeats it, and then goes to get another object. Well, today, when he woke up from his nap, he surprised me big time. He came over and crawled up on my lap!! He didn't want his shoes on. He didn't want to color. He didn't want to play. He just wanted to cuddle with me. That is the first time this year he has been physically affectionate to me. Just a few weeks ago, he didn't even look at me to say hello or goodbye. This made my heart melt. He feels safe and happy with me and our relationship is strong enough now where he'll progress more in his learning, as he wants to.
So, although during lunch I was wishing desperately for a LARGE drink, that helped me get through the rest of the day. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment