Teacher Thought for the Day

The subtitle of my blog is "A Glimpse of a Teacher's Heart." Well, I am getting ready to give you a glimpse...so get ready! One of the biggest struggles I have as a teacher is disciplining children. It is probably because I am just too sweet and kind by nature :P (hahahaha...is that laughter I hear from my family in the background?!) I guess because I enjoy being around children and having fun with them, I hate to be seen as that "mean ole' teacher" who is always yelling at the kids and getting them in trouble. So I think I tend to go too far in the opposite direction and want to be buddy-buddy with them, hoping that I win their affection and they will love me sooooo much that they will never disobey me or break a rule (hahahaha!) Well, I have discovered that this reasoning is completely WRONG! Especially this year as I am working with older elementary students as well as kindergartners, I am realizing the importance of being CONSISTENT. I have heard that word over and over again in all the education classes I have had. You must be consistent with the rules and the consequences. However, it is a struggle for me, I must admit. Yesterday, I had to deal with some issue, and I seriously had a battle inside my head. Should I let this one slide? It is no big deal! I mean, c'mon, this kid is probably going to hate me for the rest of their life if I give them a demerit for this! Is it really worth all this aggravation? However, after awhile I realized that if I let this child get away with something that had been CLEARLY announced as a rule, I was not being consistent or fair as a teacher. As much as it hurt me, I knew I had to carry out the consequences. I went home yesterday feeling rather discouraged. I mean, sometimes it feels like all we do as teachers is make rules and regulations and then punish the children when they don't carry them out. Shouldn't we give these children a break every once in awhile? However, this morning I was reading in Proverbs 29- the chapter for the day - and in verse 15, I read:

The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

This verse helped me realize that, although I hate when I have to punish a child for breaking a rule, in the end, I am helping that child gain wisdom. Children need to learn to obey rules and be responsible for their own actions. If they don't learn this at a young age, when they are older, they are really going to be a mess. Our job at this Christian school is not just to teach these children how to read, write, and figure out fractions. Our ultimate goal is for these children to become more like Christ. In order to do that, we sometimes have to punish them for what, at the time, may seem like a minor thing, so that, in the end, they realize that even the "littliest sins" are still big in God's eyes.