17. Slow Down

#64Challenge

I was having one of the best teaching weeks of my life.

And then I hit the Wall of Sound.

Yes, 2nd period did it to me once again. For nearly an hour I battled nonstop talking. Even with presentations going on, there were only rare moments when only one person was talking. My reminders to listen, to focus, largely went unheeded. By the end, I was tremendously rattled. I could feel myself physically affected by the constant noise.

Right after the class of 30 comes a class of 28. I managed to get them reading quietly while I caught my breath. But even still, I had done myself a disfavor by trying to do too much during that period, leaving me feel frustrated and angry. I was so grateful the next period was planning.

And I remembered what I needed to do: SLOW DOWN.

I took one thing at a time. I ate lunch. I wrote in my journal. I made some copies for next week. One foot in front of the other. And I made a vow to not push through my afternoon classes, but take it easy and enjoy them.

And I did. 😀  We did some discussion and writing and reading, ate a little candy, and played a game. My day was saved thanks to 2 little words: SLOW DOWN.



(Photo credit Paula Sizemore)