As we come to really the last break of the school year, I am thankful for my students. I may have not met them in person just yet, but this pandemic allowed me to focus on the teaching aspect and challenge me to know what it means to build relationships with my students. However, there are some shortcomings to my situation-I know I did not connect with all of my students. Some of them do ignore me and never respond, even with phone calls home it is quite minimal. But for the majority of my students I think this pandemic allowed us to learn who we are as people and what it means to be social. I have opened up more to my students, I don't follow a strict minute to minute math curriculum, and I give them grace-just as I have to give it to myself. It is not perfect, but compared to my first year teaching at a new site I learned a lot.
Last year, I was ready to call it quits-look for a different position and maybe apply my resources to something else. The year was cut early, and it gave me this time to see what I really loved about my job, what I could control, and what I could not. I told myself to say no to many things, but old habits die hard. But I have been more mindful of what could beneficial and what could not be. I hope things will be better as we move forward in this post-pandemic or moderate-pandemic since it is still here and hanging around.
As for the personal life, I was able to reconnect with someone last week. There has been space and time that pass, but it was a great feeling to talk to that person and just be happy laughing and enjoying each other's thoughts. I really miss that. Time can only tell, but that is something I cherish and hope to make it a priority to build my connections. Sometimes you never realize you miss that chemistry until comes and goes. I really just miss him.
CrossFit open is also happening and today is the barbell/pull-ups cycle. The pull-ups is not my jam, so I'll have to score it with how fast I can finish the first round. Weightlifting is the second portion-which is the fun part but also the challenging part. I'll see how it goes!
Happy Spring Break! See ya'll in April!