Good Days and Bad Days

It is amazing to me, even though it is my sixth year of teaching, how one day in the classroom can be so positive and inspiring, and the very next day it can feel so stuck and frustrating. I think that experience has not necessarily given me the ability to avoid "bad days", but rather the ability to deal with them :) I remember being a first, second, even third year teacher and feeling like it was the end of the world after a really bad day. Now, I suppose my days are never actually as bad as they once were, but I have come to accept them as a natural part of the job.

I was watching a special on PBS last night about the "pursuit of happiness" and one of the points made was that good relationships must be able to survive conflict, that conflict is a necessary part of any romantic, friendly, or family relationship. It is how we deal with conflict, they were arguing, that impacts whether our relationships are strong and lasting, or superficial and short-term. People need to know that they are being heard, that what they say matters. I think this holds true for the teacher-class relationship. The students need to know that the teacher is responsive to their needs and that the teacher really cares. Similarly, for teachers to feel good about their job and come to class with energy, they need to know that their students value them, or at least that they are being successful, at some level, in actually teaching!

This is all very interesting... I'm wondering how successful teachers and students have learned to develop this relationship over time and what ingredients make it work. Perhaps unsuccessful teachers and students are not willing to let the other into their lives and this is what prohibits strong learning. There is more to good teaching and learning than a good lesson plan or a high score on an assignment. The emotional component to the whole dance perhaps deserves more attention.