Do you ever have those days where your head feels like it is going to explode? As teachers, the first thing we learn is to be patient. I feel like I am a very patient person. I pride myself on that. Today was one of those days that really tested my patience. I have had a LOT going on outside of school, and maybe that was part of it, but today I just couldn’t handle it. My mind is spread so thin right now and I feel like I am taking it out on my kids.
When we were in writing, I needed to share some documents with my students. It usually would have taken about five minutes. When I looked up, I had a line of kids 7 deep waiting to ask me questions. As I got the line down, the line just filled right back up. That to me wasn’t the biggest deal in the world, I want them to ask questions. But then there is my one. My one that asks questions every ten seconds…literally. She refuses to try and figure anything out on her own. The worst part about it though isn’t the fact that she is asking me questions, it is that when I give her my answer, she argues with me! It doesn’t matter what answer I give her, she argues with me. It is literally the most frustrating thing in the world. I want to be there for her and help her when she needs, but she is completely unwilling to even try to figure anything out. She will just come to me and then if I try and answer, she will not accept that answer and then follow that up with four more questions that literally have nothing to do with anything.
Most days I keep my cool and repeat my answers. It is challenging, but I do my best to pull it off. Today I feel like I failed in that department. When she challenged me the tenth time on my answer, I asked her why she even comes to me. I gave up on her. She is totally the attention seeking kid, and I know that is why she is at my side 100 times a day. But that is my job. I have to find a way to get through to her. I have to help her. I have to make her feel successful. Today I didn’t have it. I let my clouded mind shut down and turn her away. I don’t care how stressful she can be, it is my job to help her. I am going to make more of a commitment to leaving my outside stresses at home. I have a job to do, and that is to teach these children, no matter how difficult they sometimes make that. I just need to draw up a new game plan when these situations happen.
A Second Inside My Brain 
Days like that are such a challenge. We beat ourselves up about them. But there is always tomorrow and tomorrow you’ll try something else. That’s what we do.
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I totally understand days like this. Teaching is hard! Like, really hard!! And it’s so hard not to take outside stress into the classroom (just like it’s sometimes hard not to take classroom stress home!).
I also see it from the other side. My second grader is similar to your “one.” He is unsure of himself. Very anxious. Attention seeking. Not always motivated. Not confident. So he’s ALWAYS up at the teacher’s side, asking questions. Always. I’m sure it drives her nuts. I’m sure most of the time she tries to be patient. I’m sure some of the time she fails. But I just know as the parent how important it is to us that you dont give up on them. I’m not saying you are. And I know all teachers are only human. But having a difficult child now, I see everything differently.
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You can’t win the fight every day. It’s so hard to accept that we are human and at times we show that to our students in ways we don’t want to. The good news is, today is a new day!
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Sounds like we had similar but different days.. It is so hard because we HAVE to be in teacher mode all the time with the kids and sometimes it gets to us. Yesterday was your day.
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