Self Esteem Boosters

Here are some things that my students have made for me that are hanging on the fridge at home:

The history of classroom management.

This past weekend I saw my grandmother and she told a story about her mother who was a teacher. One time when my grandmother was out with her mother, a man came up to them and asked my great-grandmother if she was a teacher named Miss Stevenson. She replied that she was. The man said, "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the boy you tied to the piano leg."

Kind of funny to think that my great-grandmother who my mom always says was a "godly woman" used to tie kids to piano legs! And I feel bad if I put a kid in time out!

Diversity

The students that I teach are pretty diverse. In just about every class I probably have at least 3 or 4 ESL kids. When most kids from another country get to draw, they often draw the flag from their country. One of my first grade students was drawing a Polish flag. I sat down with him and asked him about the flag and how long he lived in Poland. When I asked him, "What are your favorite Polish foods?" his answer was not pierogies or kielbasi as I would have expected. His answer was "Polish soup and carrots".