6th Grade Teacher Shoes

So here I am. A 6th grade teacher. I am teaching a grade that I thought I would never be teaching. I've always swayed more to the likings of the 2nd-3rd grade level, however; it often seems in life, I don't always get what I think is going to be best for myself. I'm slowly finding myself "at home" in my classroom. My environment is becoming and very slowly shaping into what I want it to be. I have a long way to go and much to learn and in the meantime I'm just as much a sponge as my students are, sucking up every bit of information that I can.

My "dream classroom" is nowhere near to what I am doing right now because I feel I am barely staying afloat with the demands of the basic curriculum. I have so many (what I think) oustanding ideas that I would love to implement in my class, but I feel like I just don't have the time. However, I do have two things that are a part of our daily routine, morning meeting and current events, that I absolutely love. Our morning meeting is very simple (thanks to my Kirk 2nd grade team) yet it has brought a tremendous amount of community into the classroom. Not to mention I love seeing the kids get excited about our little gathering. We all gather in a circle, a fairly small one at that, and passed around the circle is a purple, squishy ball-like-thing that lights up when dropped, hit, bounced, etc. It's rather fun to play with. So, the student with the ball is the only student that can talk. The first time around the circle the student has to compliment another student. This, a suprise to me, is a very difficult task for a 6th grader. The student that receives a compliment must respond with a simple, "thank you". I love seeing the look on a student's face when they receive a compliment. It's almost as if they are in disbelief of how outstanding or liked they really are. Then the second time around the cirlce (ball passed the opposite direction), whoever started the meeting asks a question and everyone else must answer using only one sentence. I have some chatty ones that could go on and on forever. This has been a great insight to who my students really are, what they like, how passionate they are, what they don't like, challenges they face, etc. This 10 minute gathering is really quite powerful and I am in "awe" by it.

Second, current events. This is one of the few memories I have from 6th grade. Each student is assigned to a day of the week (about 4-5 per day). On their current event day they are to present a current event of interest to them, where the resource is no more than two days old. As they present from the front of the class, not only do they share the basics (who, what, where, when and why), but they also have to talk about how the article affects them and/or why they chose that particular subject to present. It's been quite fascinating the topics chosen and has definitely kept all of us up to date on what's going on in the world.

As time moves on I can only imagine that I will feel more comfortable and begin to fit into the teacher shoes I am supposed to be wearing. Until then, I trip on my shoe laces, get knots in them or my tongue is just stuck sideways and feels a bit uncomfortable. One thing I know for sure, I have found what I am supposed to be doing, teaching where I am supposed to be teaching and working with a group of students that will forever leave an imprint in my life.