I had one of those weeks this week.
One of these really good weeks, actually.
The kind of week I want to write about because I want to remember it. It was filled with a lot of really important teaching moments for me. The kind of moments that remind you to keep going, that remind you, hey, the kids really are alright.
I teach music, art, and dance at a Catholic elementary school – these are all school stories this time around.
Ukrainian dance is always a mixed bag minecraft behavior packages. It’s an after-school group, there is no audition required, and it’s open to students from 3rd through 8th grade. I have some students who have been dancing with me since before the pandemic, I have some students who didn’t even know what Ukrainian folk dancing was before September. And I have them all at the same time, in one big happy group, anyone who wants to come. I’m not sure I know what the ideal number of students for a dance class is, but I’m sure I do not have it this year. I have over 30 students of varying abilities on the stage with me all at the same time.
You already know I have behavior issues. Not because the kids are bad, but just because there’s so many of them putty dateien herunterladen! And they’re all together! Did I mention there are 30 of them? And only one of me? And some of the kids could do all the moves with their eyes closed, and some of the kids are still working on moving to the beat of the music without tripping over themselves. The older kids get bored; the younger kids get frustrated. Somehow, we still manage to have some fun every week.
We’ve been working HARD since the beginning of September, just trying to get the new kids through all the basic moves, and that hard work is finally paying off. This week, at only our *checks calendar* sixth meeting of the year, we finished the choreography for our first dance.
It’s not difficult icd 10 kostenlosen. It’s not long. It’s not complex. But it’s done. And the cheer they let out when I announced that we had finished it? DEAFENING. I had the presence of mind to capture the moment in a selfie (something I often forget), and the sheer joy from these children is just beaming straight out of the pic. I’ll share it on my Facebook page, you’ll have to go check it out.
It may have been a bit of a struggle to get there, and we still have some cleaning up to do, but I could not be prouder of these kids steam all games. The kids who have been dancing with me for six years, and the kids who’ve only been with me six weeks alike. They’re giving it all their ALL this year, and their enthusiasm is infectious.
—
Now for a heartwarming story.
I’ve got a kid in one of my lower grades, who has some issues, he has had some struggles in his life even at his young age, and to complicate matters, there is a language barrier that we are ever so slowly working to take down. But this child loves coming to all my classes, he loves dancing and singing (even if he’s not singing the right words.. or melody), he loves art sims 4 kostenlosen vollversion deutsch mac. Who needs to speak the “right” language to enjoy these things?
We were working on steady beat in his class this week, and discussing the importance of a steady beat in a song like a lullaby. So I started rocking my imaginary baby to a slow, steady beat.
So of course all the students join in, too, with all their imaginary babies. And this student joins in as well. He bounces his baby gently like the rest of the students. Then he does something that is a little peculiar I guess when you are on the outside looking in but it’s something we’ve come to expect from him, he just burst out into some energetic dance moves, and then he sat down. (He is definitely a dancer!)
I noticed, though, that he was looking a little teary-eyed. I knew that I didn’t know enough of his language (and he didn’t know enough of mine) to really be able to communicate what was going on, so I walked over to his table as I went on with my lesson. Instead of trying to talk to him, I just held my hand out to him on the table, for him to hold if he wanted to, and I went on talking to the class. I was just hoping he would know I was there for him in that moment.
He immediately grabbed my hand. Looked right at me and said, “I love…” and we locked eyes for a sweet little moment. Then he let go. The classmates at his table and I were fully invested, “What do you love?” they asked. I said to them, “maybe he’s just vibing right now.” That is the lingo nowadays right? We smiled at each other, I squeezed his hand, and I got back up soon after and continued on with my lesson.
This is why I teach. Sure, I want my kids to understand steady beat, but I also want them to be feel safe. Most of all, I just want my students to know they are loved.
—
Which brings me to my final story, which is really more of an observation than a story. I’ve had many conversations with teacher friends on the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sure, the health threat has been minimized, but the weeks (months… and in some cases, years) of isolation took its toll on everyone, and I think behavior-wise, us teachers are still seeing the effects in our classrooms.
And usually, when we have this conversation, we’re never talking about any good side effects. It’s always the negative. But I’d like to posit that there is an actual positive thing to come out of the pandemic with these kids.
I teach art, which is great, if you’re someone who likes to spend most of your day just cleaning up messes while occasionally teaching kids how to paint. What makes my life a whole lot easier are the helpers, and there are always helpers. Always. But what I’ve noticed in the last few years, is the kids are just so darn nice about it. They’re not helping because they’re supposed to. They’re helping because they genuinely want to. They volunteer to do it, they go above and beyond, they do it all with a smile. And if they won’t be able to see the people they’re helping – they leave them a little note instead.
When I came back around to this table before the next class came in, my heart just about melted.
The kids are gonna be alright, guys.
