Teacher First, Friend Second

I personally feel that I am a very patient person and can tolerate a lot. However, last Wednesday when I went into the second grade classroom, I almost snapped.

The main classroom teacher, Mrs. M was teaching the children how to properly write a letter (Indent paragraphs, proper heading, date, and ending). She must have been explaining for at least twenty minutes, showing examples, and even laying out a format on the markerboard. She answered some questions then let the kids go create proper letters.

As I was walking around, I was shocked that only one child actually did everything correct. The others forgot the date, would not indent, didn’t write Dear, began writing on the top of the paper, placed the date randomly somewhere on the paper, didn’t write anything, etc… It was a disaster.

I was surprised with how understanding and calm Mrs. M remained, I was truly frustrated. I just didn’t get how they couldn’t follow these simple tasks, look at the board, and then I remembered how many times Mrs. M told them to stop talking, be respectful, etc… I guess, I didn’t get how important it is to truly show feeling to students until that moment. I realized you must discipline your class and they will be your students first and friends second, because in the end you really want whats best for them.