reflections: a personal challenge

Stirring up the dust is a personal challenge. It is my personal challenge, as an early years teacher, to engage daily in the reflective process of teaching. Whether it be a reflection on my day or a reflection of my thoughts and ideas, my challenge is to document the reflective process in order to shed light on my experiences, explore my beliefs and value systems and to ultimately learn, grow and develop into the best teacher that I can be.

Monday, July 4, 2011

the brain drain factor

This is pretty much how I feel somedays after work, especially if I happen to be at class on a fitball such as the picture above. I've been known to snooze or zone out during a yoga or pilates class. I've often thought about what makes teachers sometimes feel so tired after a days work.  I've heard before that as teachers, we have a 'cruisy' job in that we finish at 2:30pm. Well, that's when the chidlren go home. We stay on planning, reflecting, attending meetings with parents or admin. The day extends well beyond 2:30, often until at least 5 or 6pm.

But what of the sense of tiredness at the end of a day. I consider myself a pretty articulate person, but at the end of a day, there are times when I feel I cannot construct a coherent sentence! I refer to it as 'brain drain.'



Reflecting upon my brain drain symptoms, I began to recognise that these feelings stem from our bodies attempting to relax. At least, this is my theory. As an early years teacher, we spend so much time and energy with and on the children in the class. You have to be able to multi-task. You have to know where your children are in the classroom at all times (thus always positioning yourself where you can see all the students). You have to differentiate and scaffold learning - ensuring that all children are within the zone of proximal development whilst at the same time challenging them - but not too much! You must be flexible to changes in your routine or planning. You have to remain supportive when 5 children are calling out your name at the same time, and address each of them. You have to be conscious of every word or direction you give. You have to maintain awareness of time and transitions.......these are just a couple of things that come straight to mind when I think of multi-tasking in the classroom! There are many, many more factors.

It is little wonder that we are tired at the end of a day. Our brains are programmed to go, go, go and are so focused on the children and their well-being (in all areas of development) that at the end of the day, our brain literally gets the opportunity to breathe!

I think this is why I enjoy my time to exercise. Whether it is a gentle exercise like pilates or yoga, or a more combative form such as BJJ, it allows my mind to focus on just me and relax. If you are able to relax at the end of a day, you are better prepared for the day and week ahead and this goes for making a better teacher.
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