I know what I’m doing… why is she just standing there watching me? With my teacher hovering above me I feel like I will never be alone and nothing will get done during work time. 

I know that she cares about me and that’s why she is checking in. If I had any questions about the project I would ask her though; doesn’t she understand that? Having her above my shoulder makes me feel nervous, anxious, and worried. Every mistake I have she is going to see and perfection is what I have to strive for this first time around so she doesn’t see my flaws in the work. Yes, she is just being solicitous, but there are 25 other kids around, a lot of them could use the help. 

I rarely have questions about school and if I do, I will even ask Google instead of actually having to ask the teacher out loud. Kids all around me still have questions but she still stands behind me, hands on her hips, staring over my shoulder. Pressure coming over me to do something, I can’t just sit there and gaze at my paper instead of actually doing the work. One word at a time is the mindset I go in with. The only things that have to be done are these few questions that I am truly capable of finishing on my own time and accountability instead of being micro-managed by someone who I had tried to earn the trust of by being a great student and turning everything in on time. Other kids never turn things in on time and are always late but that is never me, but she still won’t take her eyes off me.

But then I realize- the amount of care a teacher has for her students is immeasurable and all she wants is for me to understand what is going on in class. I truly appreciate all of her care and consideration and eventually, she could catch a huge mistake and save the day for me.