Reflection. It is such a critical part of teaching. Taking a little time each day to reflect is a habit, a necessary habit, that leads me to what I steps I will take tomorrow. And after years of daily reflecting, I could still use some practice.
Unfortunately, I often reflect the day after. Sometimes that is good. A good night of sleep has made me less critical of myself, more forgiving of my students, and usually a little more clear headed. But sometimes that isn’t so good. Sometimes the heat of the moment reflections are the most useful.
So I am pulling out my little red journal and trying to write for a bit before I leave school each day. Today I want to reflect on what I need to do to help my students listen respectfully. I need to reflect on whether my new students’ behavior has some deeper motives that I haven’t discovered yet and how I am going to get to that place of trust to find out. And I need to think carefully about how to raise the bar a bit with my readers. They gave up too easily today and I let them. I can do better than that.
Reflection.
mollykirkblog 
Love your ideas on reflection and letting us in on your thoughts about your classroom. I gave up class behavior tracking systems (like Class Dojo) this year and have been working towards teaching students about correct behavior instead of just rewarding or punishing them. I agree trust and relationships are so important to getting anywhere with students.
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“They gave up too easily today and I let them. I can do better than that.” It seems you have set a very high bar for yourself. Don;t forget, as you reflect , to be kind to yourself.
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