Listen!

Today begins the not-so-anticipated month of August. I will not spend my time on this blog lamenting the impending doom of the beginning of the school year. However, it does bring to mind one universal truth I've learned in my many years of teaching. Children... Do... Not... Listen... Ever!!!!!!

To be clear, I am referring to my students and not my own children. Although my own kids have exhibited either an inability or unwillingness to listen on many occasions as well.

I have spent my entire career teaching children who ignore me, give me a cursory listen or treat my lessons with downright disdain. There is rarely a time when I say anything in my classroom where I don't have to repeat it. All teachers (no check that, all adults) know the world would be a better place and life would be so much easier if kids would just listen.

The graphic below would be perfect if I could change it to read, "If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way your teacher told you to in the beginning". I would TOTALLY hang that up in my classroom.