My Challenging Role

On the way to work this morning I was thinking about what I should be grateful for today. For me, it takes a while to think of something truly worthwhile to be grateful for, and unlike yesterday's blog where I was grateful for of all things, cup-a-soup, today I would like to be grateful for something a little better. This morning I was mainly thinking about work, and how I have managed to finish writing my reports in what I thought was less time than I expected, so I am glad that they are done, and then I was thinking about the stuff  I would really like to be doing with the kids at school, different ways I could teach them, in a fun and hopefully more engaging way. As I am new to teaching in a classroom and because it doesn't all come naturally, I really have to work hard in thinking of ideas and ways to teach them. There are loads of books out there and lots of help for mainstream level kids, but the kids in my class are below that, I would have to moderate every lesson to their level of thinking, this is where it gets hard. Even though it is hard work, I came to a conclusion this morning as I was driving, that I truly love being a teacher, and probably more so in this classroom I am in at the moment because it is such a challenge. Don't get me wrong, the kids are gorgeous and only today a new student came in to visit who is starting in my class next term, and she is sooooooooooooo cute. So the challenging part is not the kids themselves, as they are too cute and lovable. The challenging part is how to teach these kids who learn just one very small step at a time, and changing my mainstream way of thinking to a specialist school way of thinking. It's also about what I want to teach.  I want to teach interesting stuff, that not only makes sense to their level of thinking but is fun and engages them. This is what I am going to find hard but very interesting, and I am (I think) going to enjoy my journey of discovery.
Steph