I, Joy Kirr, am a middle school teacher, author, and speaker. My 7th grade ELA (English Language Arts) classes are working to improve their lives through student-directed learning - without marks throughout the year. This is a log of my learning experiences... Want to have me speak with your staff or facilitate a workshop? Here is my PORTFOLIO.

Friday, March 1, 2024

EduWins - the Small Things

Just some snippets from this past week that made me feel like I am where I belong...
  • I was able to fix a student's bracelet (from Bulgaria?) with just a paperclip and patience.
  • I stayed calm all week. I may have raised my voice once, but that's it.
  • I let go of some control today, and it was okay.
  • My middle class tied my last class for the monthly reward... for about 80 minutes.
  • I laughed a lot during classes.
  • I got some funny looks for my "Fancy Flannel Friday" look, and I felt proud getting out of my box anyway. (Check TikTok for the look - courtesy of @Bengela|Thrift|Style|DIY.)
  • One student made the entire class laugh - in a totally appropriate way and at a totally appropriate time - and then he announced, "I just made the whole class laugh." Twice. 😊
  • I opened two thoroughly jammed lockers.
  • I got to talk about good adult books with a former TA-now-substitute.
  • I kept work at work (even if now I've got some essays to grade)...
  • One student (whose anger flares at times) liked that I brought my daily Stoic book in to read, and now asks me to read it every day.
  • I handled a class disturbance very calmly in the moment, and then followed through right after class with that student. More follow-up to come - with help from the principal - on Monday.
  • I started writing my end-of-the-year notes to students. I'm glad I decided to do it again this year (after skipping last year). It makes me think very highly of each student.
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