Was it easy?
Heck no!
Am I going back for more?
Of course!
This first year was not with out bumps and bruises, emotionally and physically, but I definitely learned a lot. Sometimes I wonder how I made it through, and mostly I think it's because I'm stubborn (glad THAT finally came in handy!). But mostly it was because of support and encouragement. Of course my husband pulled me through, and the support of the staff and teachers I worked with made it easy to go to work most days. But truly the biggest reason I made it through was seeing the impact I made on the kids and the improvement in their behavior as the year progressed.
This year provided a lot of learning opportunities. I was so busy learning so much I didn't get to keep up with this blog the way I had hoped to. I did take some pictures and my goal this summer is to add some of those on here. There was a lot of things I created that worked, and others that didn't, but that is part of the process isn't it? Trial and error. That was the mantra this year.
But I made it and I'm going back for more. I've already started pinning more ideas and thinking about what I want to do differently next year. And school has only been out a week! Don't get me wrong, I am ready to embrace and love this vacation time, trust me, I definitely earned it, but I like to he prepared so it's never to early to start thinking!
My advice for redirection teachers? Don't give up! It's a tough job, NO DOUBT, but you really get to see the changes and growth in your students. You get to see your students grow and develop, not only in an educational way, in an emotional and social way that you don't always get to see too. It's amazing, it truly is. Maybe I was destine for this position. It seemed like so many things were pointing me to this even though I was so sure it wasn't what I wanted. I have a lot of room to grow, but I think I stood my ground and held my own and I am ready to rest up this summer and then hit the ground running again!
