Comments on: The Doldrums

By: Carrie Kamm

Carrie Kamm — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:25:21 +0000

You are going to hear Pedro speak? Lucky you-he is my professional crush :) Please post some of what you learn-I always find him engaging and he always leaves me with something to think about.

By: Miss Eyre

Miss Eyre — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:33:03 +0000

I understand your comment on my NYC Educator guestblog from the other day now. Yeah. That sucks.

By: Jose

Jose — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:27:31 +0000

Thanks Ann and Anne. We beat ourselves up because we care. You’re so right, and that’s part of the reason why we’re in this profession. We try and try and eventually when that well’s dry, we find another one to refresh ourselves with. It’s the cycle of an effective teacher. It’s rarely the case when, getting into a classroom, every student is perfectly still and ready to learn for 180 or so days straight. Even if you get a 1/4 of that, you’re fortunate. We just gotta keep on keeping on, so to speak.

By: Anne V

Anne V — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:19:47 +0000

This is where insomnia starts… what if? If only? Why didn’t I? You may not have made the connection in the here and now, but you don’t know if something you’ve said or done will sink in later on. Students definitely surprise you, all the time.

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:12:17 +0000

Why do we beat ourselves up? We do because we care, and that is the single most important thing a teacher can do. It’s not the well-planned lessons or the stacks of essays, it’s the connections we make with our students. Sometimes, no matter how much we try, we are just not successful. The thing that makes you an outstanding teacher is that you recognize when you are not connecting. Hang in there, you just never know when that connection might happen.