Memories and Connections

A Teacher's Memories of Sept. 11th
On this 10th anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11th, I stop to honor those affected by the tragic events of that day.  Such stories of bravery!  Such stories of family and love!  Such stories of heroism!  My thoughts and prayers are with you. To the members of our military and their families, to the firefighters and police officers and their families, and to everyone else in service to our country, I offer my simple and insufficient "Thank you". 
Like everyone else, I remember where I was that fall day. I was teaching school, about to begin my first year of teaching 3rd grade. I still remember my sweet class from that year, and I think they are freshmen in college now!  I remember getting a knock at my door from a fellow teacher down the hall. I remember him sharing the news.  I remember being completely shocked and frozen in time.  But I paused thoughtfully and shut my eyes for a second, then turned around to face my little ones.  .  I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of protectiveness over them. I wanted them to be safe and happy. For the rest of the day, and beyond into the year, that was my charge. I wanted them to continue to laugh with their friends, read dog-eared books, eat their Goldfish snacks from little Tupperware containers, and ask insightful, funny questions about plants! I treasured these moments even more in our little classroom at the end of the hall for the rest of that year.  .

My Bulletin Board Moves to My Door

I put this on my door because I had no more room inside. It reminds me of my goals with my class!

I absolutely love using technology in my class. But it's been slow-going for me so far.  We have textbook pick-ups, learning of rules, establishment of procedures, etc.  We have blogged and used our Smartboard of course, but I have been bogged down with long to-do lists lately that have kept me from implementing these tools fully.  This door reminds of where we are headed with technology.  

I'm starting with Edmodo on Monday, and on Friday, I received an invite from some 4th grade teacher friends for a Mystery Skype---our first of the year!  So things are coming along, though slowly.


Some of these little details on my to-do list can get crossed off quickly.  Some will take more time.  This is all a part of teaching today.  But I can't let those details stop me from remembering that it is all about my students and their learning.  They deserve all of my energy and all of the best ideas I can find, regardless of the length of my to-do list.   

Do you ever got bogged down with so many details that it's hard to realize your goals for your class?