I have not yet begun reading the intentional teacher, but I have been thinking about how I intend to shift my practice this upcoming school year. First, by getting a handle on my own self control. Then, by making an effort to do more reflecting on y practice during the year. I plan to reference professional texts also so that my practices can improve during the school year. Also, I need to keep and hold PT closer during the year as well. But most important, I want to begin my year by purposely focusing on creating what I've been longing for; a warm classroom environment. my duty as an educator is much more than what I expected it to be. My job is to educate parents and make them aware of ways they can help their children. I thought it crazy to think that parents would not know how important talking and reading with their child really is. Just like I thought is was crazy that they wouldn't know much about healthy eating. Hell, I don't know much about healthy eating, but I am still in a...

Lord please help me be attentive and intentional in my planning and teaching this upcoming school year. Please help me to not be distracted by the negativity of my peers and also not to be distracted by my own negative thinking. Please give me the patience to teach and reteach and practice classroom procedures and stay consistent in doing so. Please give me the confidence not to stray away from things that may not be working first hand. Please help me not to be intimidated by any troubled children or troubling situations. Help me remember that it is a new year with new children and therefore, I should have a new attitude. Also, help me not be intimidated by my colleagues or my administrators. Please guide me to do what I once enjoyed; help me to enjoy it once again. Give me the stamina to deal with the challenges that come with working in an urban, underprivileged neighborhood. Please help me to work hard, give my best, and remember to laugh. Help me to begin reflecting on the specific...

Transitions
Teaching children how to work cooperatively
Pulling small groups
Assessment
Shifting my practice

How am I going to shift my practice?
What systems am I going to put in place?
How am I going to become more of an effective manager of my classroom?
How will I stay in my happy place?
How will I keep track of ALL of my documentation this year?

How can I keep my practice intentional in the skills I want to teach this year?

I know I am meant to teach because:

• As much as I complain about the job, I continue to think about changes I plan to make for the next year.
• I do it well and want to master the craft.
• I love helping children learn.

The other day, a professor said to my class:

• We see growth when we step out of our comfort zone.
• This is true; but I also think you need to grow within your comfort zone.
• Correction = I speak for myself. I need to grow within my comfort zone, and that is what I plan to do.

This job's not easy, but somebody's gotta do it

I realize that I lack the confidence that will help me do my job to my fullest potential. I always get so nervous around everyone. Students, parents, colleagues and admin. I always feel like they are watching my every move and are waiting for me to mess up. Like they are literally breathing down my back. I HATE that kind of pressure, and as a result, I guess I end up being intimidated. I don't know why I feel this way, because I really have proven myself capable; I just hate the feeling of being watched I guess. That's why observations are killers for me, eventhough I typically do well. My first and previous years were the most difficult, so maybe I'm even afraid of failure. I never quite know how to deal with student anxiety either, probably because I'm always trying to battle my own. This year I am determined to redefine my role and be confident, because I know what I can do. Why do I always end up caring about what others are saying and thinking about me. I've always been really timid...

I have been teaching since 2005, and in that time I have been so busy doing that I have not been taking the time to reflect on a few things. Sure, I have always been a reflective person, but I have been thinking so much about what I need to do to help students, but I have not really been reflecting on myself and what is going to help me get through the hardships of this profession so that I can better understand and help students. This year, so much has gone on in my classroom, and now my eyes are beginning to open. I need to look more into myself and what I need to grow on as a person, to help my teaching.

Number one, I need to be more flexible. I need to take bigger risks so that I can learn what I want and what I don't want. I can't knock the idea of teaching a different grade, because I have not actually done it. I can't live through other teacher's stories and make them my assumptions.

Second, I have to learn that I can't always have things my way, then...