I've got self diagnosed sensory issues. I'm not making light of folks who truly suffer from this, I've just noticed some things about myself as I'm getting older. My husband tells me that I'm an 80 year old woman in a 39 year old body. Noises really bother me and as with most things when tiredness creeps in, it gets worse. So here's what happened this week...
In my new role this school year (Campus Testing Coordinator), I knew that busy times would happen, but I told myself that it was OK, because it was just seasonal. Still true. The difference between what I do now and being a classroom teacher, is that as a classroom teacher the busyness is same throughout the year. It's steadily busy, almost no down time, so you don't notice those lulls in activity quite so much. Teaching is running a marathon all the time, but you don't care because you see the students smiles, lights going off in their brains, and you know it's all worth it.
These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy, working till 7pm most nights preparing for the first round of STAAR, managing my daughter's choir concerts, family, church, and other school commitments, even on weekends. No down time. The noises began to get to me and I found myself seeking quiet times wherever I could get them, but as I got more and more tired, even the smallest of noises began to send me seeking relief inward, through sleep, but I just couldn't get enough. Again, my husband jokes that I can sleep through anything. I've slept through hurricanes, severe weather, even through plane rides missing the Aurora borealis as we flew into Alaska one time. So imagine, if you will, a overworked, tired, mind won't stop person who hears the dishwasher running, the water flowing, the TV blasting the kids favorite show on Sprout, the refrigerator door opening and slamming, the child tapping their cup on the table over and over, the youngest chatting away about school and books, your oldest trying to relay information about choir practices/concerts, the D-Hall she got for tardies, the husband telling you about a night he needs to work late, the supplies he needs for his own class, the staff at school relaying information that is important to them about STAAR, asking questions, even the air conditioner sound in my van...after a while, I just want to put my fingers in my ears and make it stop. You might be nodding your head about now, either knowing what I'm talking about or thinking "Seriously, get over it." And if you are in the later category, you are not alone. I've said that to people before, not understanding why they acted that way.
But here's what it did for my perspective...How many times do we miss those subtle clues about our own students? How many times do our students try to tell us in body language, in facial expressions, in other non-verbal ways that they need a personal time-out for their own sanity? Not because they are trying to be rude, defiant, or disrespectful, but so they can survive and regroup and move on. I hope I take time, and I hope you take time to watch, observe, ask yourself (and myself) questions, and then think about ways we can provide what our students need. Maybe they need a quiet island, maybe a space under your desk to regroup themselves. Do we acknowledge that they need this or do we tell them to "get over it." Just something to think about as we move further into testing season and into the spring long haul of the school year.
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