Reflection Fest - Day One

The end of the year brings with it a natural time of reflection, whether it be personal, professional, or spiritual.  As a teacher, I find myself reflecting before the school year starts and as a new calendar year starts.

Today as I was Twitter stalking, I came across a tweet about reflection from Any Rudd at The "Rudd"er.  Technically, I guess it was a retweet because it came from Teachingchannel.org.  For the next five days, they will pose a reflection question and ask teachers to share their triumphs, challenges, and goals.

Teachingchannel.org

Today's reflection:  Most Inspiring Moment

As teachers, I am sure we have many inspiring moments throughout our school year.
Some may be planned teaching moments, while others may be totally unexpected.

Sifting through my year, I have many that I could share, but this one stands out the most...maybe because it is the most recent.

I have a very athletic class this year.  Many of my boys and girls play multiple sports and are very competitive.  The week leading into Thanksgiving, our school had a food drive/competition.  The winning class was to receive an ice cream party.  As the days dwindled and the competition drew to a close, I knew we were not going to win.  I hesitantly approached my class with an idea that I had.

The contest was based on the number of food items per student in the class.  At our school we have a Life Skills special ed. class with around 10 students.  Several of our 4th graders are their "buddies" and they come to our special classes and a go out to recess with them once a week.

I asked the kids if they would be willing to give our cans to Mrs. Jones' class so her students may experience the joy of winning.  Knowing how competitive they are, I could not believe now excited they were about the idea.

We counted our cans, crossed out my name, and wrote Mrs. Jones as the teacher.  The day they announced the winners, my class waited with anticipated as the winning class was announced over the intercom.  When they announced that Mrs. Jones' class was the winner, my class jumped up and down, hollered and clapped.  One standing in the hall would have thought my class had just been announced the winner.

I was so proud of them for putting aside their competitiveness and desire to win just to make someone else feel special.  I think we all learned a valuable lesson in what giving is really all about.

I hope you will join us for Reflection Fest!