Today was one of those days that just was a bit trying in terms of patience. And I must say, the children I have this year are just the most beautiful beings. However, we tend to all listen at different times and places, and it seems that sometimes repetition does not exactly interrupt our own thoughts that are most likely filled with our own dreams and third grade thoughts about friends and family and what I plan on eating for lunch. There was a bit of a kinesthetic math activity we were embarking upon and though I had mentioned multiple times to write down the shaded fraction as well as the unit fraction, one of my students still had not heard me (actually a few). We chanted those directions together, we sang them together and then I continued to repeat those directions as we flew along and it seems that a few of us left the nest with our own fluffy feathers and thoughts. I thought hard before losing it until the one student quickly exclaimed, "But you never told us that" in reaction to my disgruntled manner, and I said in a very VERY loud voice, "OH MY GOOOODNESS. OH MY GOOODNESS!" and that was enough to make the whole class look at me with wide eyes. Because I never raise my voice. And because I was so loud my neighbor teacher came over to make sure all was okay. She cried telling the story to others because once again....I never raise my voice in anger-only excitement.

And thus the little birds trembled a bit until we talked about open ears and open hearts and listening intently when directions are given maybe 12 or 13 or 14 or 15 times. Something I have tended to notice over my 5 (still a beginner) years of teacher is that it appears to be so very alarming how many of my students simply don't hear their name when I call them (multiple times.) And then I think to myself...maybe my nest isn't entertaining enough. Or warm enough. Or exciting enough. Or intriguing enough. Until I hit my head on the pillow at the end of the day completely exhausted from the running around and jumping up and down and the amount of voice inflections and hand raises and eyebrow raises and jokes and .....all those things just to encourage active listening. But perhaps...maybe it is true. Maybe all that jumping around and trying to find the right tune of our orchestra doesn't always help the active listening. All this to say-sometimes we lose our cool. My students understood. I addressed it right then and there that I was (at that moment) very clearly losing my "cool." And that my poor mood would pass in about two minutes. And all would be well. 

But then I think again about active listening. And how important it is for modeling to take place of active listening. And how in the busy nature of the nests our students live in-perhaps active listening goes by the wayside. No one is forced to listen because no one has time. Speech is fast paced, life is fast paced and students are expected to go and go and go without having to ever listen. But you know...when you are listening...you are also thinking and inferencing and anticipating and wondering about what it is the person is saying and what is prompting their speech or why they appear to be so disgruntled or so excited. And sometimes I think that perhaps the ability to think and grapple and question is lost sometimes too...in the nest where listening is lost.