Day 279: End of the Year Self Reflection

Daily Blog Challenge Day 279/365

The end of the year is always hard for me.  I tend to be overly critical and the end of the year reminds me of all the things I messed up on throughout the year.

This year was my second year in the district and was excited to continue to strengthen the elementary music program.  Along with elementary music, I accepted the position as High School Softball coach and I was asked to teach a media class to fifth graders.  I enjoyed teaching the class, but it did not come without stress:  no curriculum, little structure, students with very little background knowledge and computers that did not always cooperate.  Some days I felt like I was going in a million different directions and I did not always feel like I was able to fulfill all of the things I wanted to do.  Now that I have had almost a week to relax and reflect, I realize that this year was pretty good.  I believe the elementary music program made positive steps forward and we are slowly working towards my goals for the program.

Positives from this year...
1.  Students in grades 2nd-4th all participated in a Skype Performance.
2.  We started a class Twitter account and communicated with other classrooms.
3.  We started a Twitter account and Facebook Page for parents to follow.
4.  Musically, students in kindergarten built a solid foundation for rhythm reading.
5.  We spent more time on recorder in 4th grade and more students received their black belt

Disappointments
1.  I need to focus on building relationships with all of  my students.
2.  I need to take better care of myself, so that I am able to handle frustrations in a better manner.
3.  I need to remember what I have learned through the Love and Logic Training.
4.  I need to take a deep breath and focus on the things that are really important.
5.  I need to remember that my job is to teach students, therefore they have to make mistakes or I have nothing to teach.
6. I did not stay as organized as I should have been.
7.  I need to stop taking things so personally.


What was your biggest success from this year?  What challenged you the most?  Thank you for reading.