Internship Week 9

This was a good week, yet exhausting.  I learned a lot about myself as a teacher.  I had quite a bit of behavior issues this week, and I have to say that I let it get the best of me one day.  In the middle of the week, I had one day from 8 in the morning until I left that afternoon that a behavior of a student was building up until finally, an explosion.  I was frustrated, I felt as though I didn't know what to do, and felt helpless.  It was at that point that I realized I will be faced with these situations very often, if not everyday.  It is up to me to deal with it the best way that I can.  As frustrated as I became, I tried my best not to let it show and think to myself about all the things that might be going on in the student's life that was causing them to have a bad day.  I had to remind myself that this behavior isn't happening just to happen, there is a reason and I have to be considerate of the reason.  With that being said, however, I did present a consequence that seemed to reach the student and allow them to understand that respect must be mutual.  At the end of the day, I received something that really touched me and I knew it was said from the bottom of the student's heart.  They came up to me and said, "I'm really sorry, Ms. C." along with a hug.  To me, this meant more than an apology.  This meant that a relationship was established as the student recognized that I am their teacher.  I felt as though the student understood that I truly do want what was best for them and I want them to succeed.
Along with this, I also learned to leave behavior situations to the side and be able to jump from student to student with an enthusiastic attitude and remove my mind from the situation beforehand.  I feel that I did the best I could and felt pretty accomplished as I could go from talking firmly to a student that was possessing an unwanted behavior to a student that is eager to learn.  I've learned that being a teacher is more than teaching.  It is also being a cheerleader, a disciplinarian, and someone to rely on.  These are qualities I am working on possessing- this experience has allowed me to build upon these skills.