How many times have I finished a lesson and said to myself, "Well, that didn't go so well." It happens to the best of us, whether we've been teaching for 19 years or 1. In my opinion, numerous variables can play a part in the demise of a lesson, but I believe Debbie Diller makes a good point here. If I spend my time during a lesson fighting off-task behavior and dealing with several interruptions, I have a responsibility to reflectively ask myself these three questions: Was the task too hard? Did I explain and model the task well enough so that the students understood what to do? Did I make the purpose of the task clear? I can witness to the fact that typically my least effective and most frustrating lessons are not the children's fault. Their behavior was a direct link to my teaching. Maybe the task was too hard. That problem can lead to all kinds of behavior issues. Maybe, and I think this is very common, they simply didn't know how to do what I wanted them to do. (Regie Routman says, "I do it. We do it. We do it. We do it. You do it.") Sometimes we send them off without enough practice to handle the task independently, and thus they don't handle it well at all. Maybe they didn't even know why they were doing what I asked of them. If there's no real-life meaning to it and I haven't made it clear, it's much easier to be off-task. Granted, there are moments when I feel like I do everything right and don't see the results I want, but most of the time, Debbie Diller is right about this. Without beating myself up, I need to be reflective and recognize the part I play in those lessons that don't turn out like I had hoped. Selah. I've got a pair of lovely guests today. Sara and Christy would love for you to pay them a visit this morning. I'll be on my way soon, because I know what they have prepared for us is definitely worth reading. I'm thoroughly looking forward to their Saturday Sayings. How about you? Sara Christy