Just be honest. 

That is a phrase that is repeated often in my classroom.  Not because I have a room fool of truth-twisting students, but because the truth is something that I highly value. After several years of teaching, I have finally found my rhythm in the classroom.  My students walk in and know that we are going to do hard work, but they also know that there will be times of unpredictability that make my classroom an environment that is entertaining, to say the least.
My students will also tell you that the one thing Mrs. Hoffman dislikes the most is dishonesty.  I can handle most any situation in my classroom with grace and calmness.  But when I feel that I have been lied to, I really have to stop, count, and breath before the spirit that comes out of me says things that I will forever regret.

Just be honest. 

How easily that phrase rolls off my tongue, and yet I have realized these past few weeks that I may have been telling the biggest lie of all.
It is really easy to settle in to a routine that is easy.  To teach the same materials because they are already prepared, stapled, and ready to be used.  And how easy it is to tell yourself that that is ok.  That at one time, you put really hard work into all of the curriculum planning, and it is time you get to breath.  Over the past few weeks I have realized that I have done just that: I fell into a routine and told myself that I am doing the best I can, and that I can relax.
Oh, how far from the truth that is.  As I have taken this course, I have realized that there is just so much that needs to be learned.  Every new chapter I read, I come up with fifteen more ways I could re-invent ideas in my classroom.  For ME, the same routine is far from the best that I could offer.  So I have vowed to just be honest.  To take a look at myself and my practices and truly evaluate my objectives and goals for my students, for me and even for my school.
So the next time I say, "just be honest", it will not only be a reminder for my students, it will also be a reminder for myself.