This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Disconnected and Disengaged
I currently feel that I have become somewhat disconnected and disengaged. At this time of the year our Culinary Department gets overbooked with school events for inductions, banquets, pregame meals, and various requests from our administration. On top of that our school is piling a lot of extra work on the teachers each week after numerous assignments are assigned to us after each PL. Not to mention we have the 13.5 week grading period and conferences coming up and competitions to prepare for! I have recently assigned more student-led activities which they enjoy, but I feel the end result is not as successful as it could be. It has allowed me to play some catch-up, however, it leaves me feeling a degree of guilt for not doing a better job than I did. It's no excuse to coordinate classes in order to make it more beneficial for the teacher as opposed to the students. I had reached a better level of connection and engagement earlier in the year and I was noticing vast differences between this year and last year. It is my focus now to get back to that point and bring it further.
James,
ReplyDeleteI can certainly relate to a lot of your frustrations you have expressed. I feel the same pressures at my school. IEP meetings, staff meetings, homecoming duty, lunch duty, bus duty, computer training, RTI case load... and the list goes on and on. I too, am guilty of giving book work one day just because I was so behind on all the paper work from administration that I had to catch up on. I felt guilty because I was not giving my students my best...but at the same time...everything from administration had a "firm deadline" and was "mandatory". James...don't beat yourself up about this. You have a passion for your industry and your students and that comes across loud and clear. Your students will respect you no less! Keep up the good work and fight the good fight!
James,
ReplyDeleteKeep doing what you are doing even when you feel you aren't doing your best the kids really do see your effort and respect what you are trying to do so keep up the good work.