Sisyphus...

Today's class really went by fast, now I know a lot of people say that and don't mean it but seriously where on earth did the time go? I felt like we were only in there for thirty minutes or so. Not sure if that's because I was focused and didn’t notice the time or I have poor time management skills. Probably a bit of both.

Today we were working on creating an infographic which until today I’d never heard of. But it required that we reflected/assess and self evaluate where we are. This is a key part of our job as teachers in assessing, reflecting, and evaluating ourselves; hence why it is one of the NC standards. We have to be able to do this and see where we can improve as teachers; to get students engaged in the learning process, enhance and transform learning, establishing relevancy, and integrating literacy. Just listing all of these things that we have to consider is stressing me out. I can’t help but feel that there is this almost “your best will never be enough” feeling that makes me a little depressed and stressed in constantly trying to do better knowing you will have to be doing this regularly. Where you think “yes, this time I’ve finally done it. There’s nothing more to improve on.” but it never is and we have to continually look for ways to improve. It is like Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the mountain.

It's not the improving thing that stresses me out but it the feeling of trying to get students engaged in the learning process, enhance and transform learning, establish relevancy, while also planning lessons (most likely for several subjects), creating tests, coming up with projects, deal with the principal and angry parents, jungle your own personal life, and fight the urge to just take the easy way out and lecture. I guess it’s the trying to get everything right even though you never will that is getting me.