It turns out learning is hard. Especially if it is in an area that is not particularly 'your thing'.
I have a passion and interest in literacy and I mostly enjoy being challenged and put in the pit in this area.
Sport is not my area. And I have traumatic childhood memories of skiing. Nevertheless, I decided that it was something I should have another go at.
Conditions were ideal - the sun was shining, there had been a little extra top up snow overnight, I had all the gear I needed and some supportive friends.
I got out on the learners slope and was zipping up and down there in no time. It was time for the next step. The chairlift. This was my big barrier. But with some perseverance and grit I managed that - and experienced the joy that comes after conquering the pit. And to top it all off, I had been convinced that the bigger chairlift was just as easy as the smaller one.
And that's about where the good part of the day ends.
The mountain was too big. My legs were too tired. My determination diminished. I was trying to run before I could walk.
And will I go skiing again? Not this year.
I took away from this experience a few things as a learner.
1) Conditions have to be ideal in order for positive learning experience outside of someones comfort zone.
2) A gentle push is OK. But always take the smallest step to build the learner up.
3) When a learner says enough is enough - STOP now. It is likely they will come back to it and pick up from where they left off.
I have three blog posts in draft form currently. They're all from the last couple of weeks of last term. At that point, I was tired. I'd worked hard. I kept thinking, 'I'll have more time and energy in the holidays.' The holidays came - I spent a good 10 days switched off from school, I re-energised and then I never quite got round to the blogging - pushing it down my priority list.
Term two started and it was more intense than I expected. Then it seemed the blogging didn't matter anymore. Until this week. This week I hit the bottom of the pit. (I hope it's the bottom anyway!) Reality has hit, with the honeymoon period over, I got a cold (more than just a sniffle), and I temporarily lost my growth mindset. This is me kicking my positivity back into action.
It's important to emphasise that I've just had a bad week. I still love what I do and believe in the same things. But these are some things I'm going to work on to improve my teaching and well-being:
1) Take some time - it's very easy when in a shared environment to feel like you always have to be intensively teaching, especially if there's someone in a 'roamer' role.
2) Be patient - I have surprised myself how much I have enjoyed working with the younger years, but I do still get frustrated at repeating myself a lot. I need to chill and remember how young they are.
3) Don't put aside reflection and change - There has been so much to adapt to this year that I think at some points (now being one of them) that it has been easier to just ignore what's not urgent and then carry on pretending everything is fine.
There is some great PD that has happened and is happening this term - so back to blogging it is! And maybe.... I might just go back and finish those posts in draft form.
