What have I learned?

It's around this time of year that I start thinking about how I've grown as an educator over the past year. How am I better than I was at this time last year? How can I improve for next year?

1. Bathroom passes are a life saver. They make it so much easier to keep track of kids and keep "problems" from happening in the bathrooms.

2. A teacher webpage is a necessity and is awesome for keeping in touch with parents and making it pretty darn impossible for kids to say they "lost" a handout or worksheet when they have 24/7 access to it on my webpage.

3. There will always be "those kids" and "those parents" who give me "those migraines".

4. Consistency is key.

5. Given my position in the school, there will always be projects that are dumped on me last minute, but keeping myself organized is going to be the best way to keep myself from going crazy.

6. Kids can learn and thrive in the strangest of places.

7. Given enough time and patience, even the kids you thought were clueless or helpless can progress.

8. Having a box to pass back work is the BEST idea I ever had.

9. I'm much stronger than I was a year ago.

10. Professional Development can be a huge pain, but totally worth it and really helps you find the best ways to help your students.