Saturday, September 24, 2011

Am I doing all I can?

How do you make sure as a teacher you are doing all you can for each child? What if one child demands more attention than the other 26 kids in the class? How do you handle that?

I struggle with this. This year, I have students who demand so much more time than their classmates that I am beginning to feel guilty of the time I spend with the few. I work hard each day, often realizing that lunch is the first time i have sat in the day, and fall dead tired into bed at night.

I small group, one-on-one, pep talk, cajole, beg, wheel and deal my "demanding" students through their day. Am I teaching them? I wonder sometimes. I pray each night and each morning that my students gain something from my presence. Am I doing all I can?

1 comment:

  1. Teresa:

    I'm pretty certain you are reading my mind!
    I feel EXACTLY the same way! I have 34 sixth graders--more than half are struggling and several have "big time issues."

    I worry about meeting their needs. I worry about meeting the needs of those who can and want to do the work.

    I love teaching math. It's my favorite! Well, actually, I like social studies too. Science... not so much. Literacy is challenging, but improving. At my school, we teach it all, except for PE and music.

    I love the kids, but it seems there are so many demands on teachers to be everything to everyone. Do you feel that way?

    Thanks for your post. It gave me a chance to reflect!

    I hope you'll visit my new site. I'm new to blogging, but I'm learning! It's great to know there are others teaching sixth grade!

    Kim
    http://joyin6th.blogspot.com

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