Show me Kindness Even When I Can't

My favorite teacher showed me kindness, when I know I was being a pain. - Andrea

Some days they are easy to love, and other times they are really pushing all the buttons. Sometimes they can’t just leave something alone or get on task. They seem bent on making things difficult.  

It’s what they do.  

It’s not that they want to be a pain, necessarily, but something that is gnawing at them is keeping them from being able to fully focus. On our best days we are able to ease it out of them and maybe even get them back on track. Other days…not so much.  

Sometimes they are just testing their boundaries. That is good and natural even though it doesn’t always work with our plan. It is normal for kids to figure out their place in all of this and normal for us to correct them when they go astray.  

It is their job to explore boundaries, and our job is to guide them back on track. It is a little like putting up bumpers at the bowling alley. They try a few things out and bounce all over, but we keep them from getting into any major trouble.  

It’s always progress over perfection because the perfect and silent class is just as little fun as a loud and crazy one. It is in the nature of the flow of kids and adults, especially in a safe place like a school.  

It may not always be easy for us to be kind to the student being snotty, but remember there is likely something else going on with them, and they are also likely to be back to their usual selves soon enough.  

We can fight the waves, or we can surf with the ebb and flow, knowing it is all part of growing up. Let’s help them get back into the flow themselves and we can all get back to the fun of learning.  

Have a great day!!