Have you ever felt stuck? Ever felt like there was something you knew you needed, but couldn’t get?
As a teacher, I often feel stuck in a place where I’m not as effective as I want to be. Sometimes it’s a place I’ve let other people put me in and other times it’s a place I’ve put myself.
A few years ago, I was in the thick of Toddlerdom. I had a one-year-old and a two-year-old who would lock any door they could get their little chubby fingers around. This prompted my husband and I to switch around several locks in our house.
One morning I woke up exhausted to find my shower was broken – one of those mornings where nothing was going right, so my husband offered to take the kids to the gym giving me time to regroup. I waved them goodbye and headed to the guest bathroom to take a shower – the one that had a separate small room for the shower and closed the door. The shower worked and it was the perfect quiet space.
After I closed the door, I remembered I forgot my towel. I turned the knob to find it locked. From the outside. I had no towel, no phone, nothing. The peaceful two hours my husband granted me, was spent behind a locked door. I had put myself there. I had switched the locks and I hadn’t planned ahead.
I realized, while I was stuck behind that door, that I often do this. Usually, it’s a door I’ve blamed someone else for locking. I can’t teach what I feel my students need because that test is coming. I can’t give them the books they want because there isn’t enough rigor, or there is too much rigor. Even, I can’t take that leap to the position in life I want because (insert excuse 5,674).
We all get there some days. Getting unstuck, getting out of those walls – opening the door. It’s a struggle. Maybe you just have to turn that knob and start the path. Maybe you ask for someone else to open it for you so you can begin that journey. But, don’t stay there. Don’t get stuck in a place that doesn’t feed your passion or ignite a fire in your students. Don’t get stuck behind that door – open it!
In what areas of your classroom or of teaching do you feel stuck?
Who locked the this door on you? (Yourself, someone else)
What would opening the door look like?
How can you get out? Can you do it yourself? Do you need help from someone else?
Take a little time to think and reflect. I realize now how much sleep I lost worrying about something in my classroom. I wish I had just started to move forward, asked for help, or created the tool I needed to open that door.
If there is an area I can help with, please let me know. I’m happy to try and help or point you in the right direction.
Here are a few of the ways I have been able to open doors to more time and peace of mind in the classroom.
Teacher Reflection – (See Tip #7)
Effective Classroom Management Strategies
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