I hope you all had a blessed week last week and have had some time to relax this weekend. I know this is the time of year where things start to pile up quickly. Grades are due, plans need to be made, testing is coming up quickly. It is very easy to be distracted by all these "things" and to forget what our purpose truly is.
I felt very blessed this morning when our pastor asked the teachers in the room to stand up and asked everyone else around to pray over us. I can honestly say that my heart feels lighter than normal approaching a new week :) Especially a week like this one... conferences most of the day Thursday and my yearbook is due on Friday... It's going to be a busy one :)
So with conferences approaching my thought for the week is wondering how I can love all those parents I will be coming in contact with on Thursday. I want to communicate clearly to them, but I don't want to intimidate them or bash their children. I want to tell them the truth in love and hopefully offer assistance where its needed.
Part of being able to do that is preparing for the conferences beforehand... The way my school does it is we all sit in the gym and parents are able to walk up to our tables and speak to us. During the busier parts of the day, lines will form, but in the past it is typically a steady stream of parents throughout the day. This means I don't know what parents to actually expect to be meeting with-- and when you have 70 kids it is hard to feel adequately prepared for all of them. So everyday this week I will be meeting with my kids one and one... talking about their grades, taking notes, etc. in order to feel more prepared for Thursday, and in the process being able to invest a little bit of my time specifically into each student this week.
I also want to offer love to the parents simply because THEY need love just as much as our students do. I'm praying for discernment for all of us as we speak with parents (whether its in conferences, over the phone or via email). Remember, their lives are tough too.
Praying you can speak the truth in love.
<3
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Dare 18: Tough Love
Do not withhold discipline from a child... Proverbs 23:13
This past week I was pegged as "the mean teacher" because I caught several of my students plagiarizing and they (as promised) received zeroes on a very large assignment. I was very, very upset, angry, disappointed, etc. with my students, and I'm sure I came across more strict than I typically do, but I wanted them to understand the consequences for their actions and that it was in no way okay.
Even though I can honestly say (and only after a few years of teaching under my belt) that I truly don't mind if I have a student that doesn't like me-- I mean, its bound to happen. But it still really bothered me that I was the "mean teacher" when I had not been the one in the wrong. Of course, that's typically how it goes, especially when you teach middle schoolers :)
I really had to convince myself that I wasn't in the wrong. That their actions required a consequence. And the consequence was known and out on the table before they decided to follow through with their behavior.
It is good to discipline your students. They need it. Of course, there are lines that I'm not going to attempt to draw here between discipline and punishment that need to be taken into consideration. But my heart's desire in disciplining my students is not for them to be in trouble, its for them to learn from their mistakes and move forward.
So, this week I want you to think about how you give tough love. Is it really tough love or are you just frustrated and angry? I'm sure many of you do this already, but consider explaining the process of tough love to your kiddos... tell them the why behind the consequence. Sometimes it is easy to get wrapped up in the business of the day and I know students receive consequences in my classroom without me ever taking them aside and explaining my reasoning behind it.
Have a blessed week. Love you. <3
This past week I was pegged as "the mean teacher" because I caught several of my students plagiarizing and they (as promised) received zeroes on a very large assignment. I was very, very upset, angry, disappointed, etc. with my students, and I'm sure I came across more strict than I typically do, but I wanted them to understand the consequences for their actions and that it was in no way okay.
Even though I can honestly say (and only after a few years of teaching under my belt) that I truly don't mind if I have a student that doesn't like me-- I mean, its bound to happen. But it still really bothered me that I was the "mean teacher" when I had not been the one in the wrong. Of course, that's typically how it goes, especially when you teach middle schoolers :)
I really had to convince myself that I wasn't in the wrong. That their actions required a consequence. And the consequence was known and out on the table before they decided to follow through with their behavior.
It is good to discipline your students. They need it. Of course, there are lines that I'm not going to attempt to draw here between discipline and punishment that need to be taken into consideration. But my heart's desire in disciplining my students is not for them to be in trouble, its for them to learn from their mistakes and move forward.
So, this week I want you to think about how you give tough love. Is it really tough love or are you just frustrated and angry? I'm sure many of you do this already, but consider explaining the process of tough love to your kiddos... tell them the why behind the consequence. Sometimes it is easy to get wrapped up in the business of the day and I know students receive consequences in my classroom without me ever taking them aside and explaining my reasoning behind it.
Have a blessed week. Love you. <3
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