Last Friday, it was another day of long meetings, testing, computer problems, and both students and teachers were getting frustrated. I was sitting in one of my intervention meetings when the social worker joined us. We had a little time before the meeting started so the two of us quietly started talking about one of our third grade students. He goes to see the social worker to talk about different coping skills that he can use when he gets frustrated. At my school, they use the Angry Birds coping skills seen below:
Source: http://thehometeacher.org/2012/02/dont-be-an-angry-bird-free-printables.html
We were talking about a session they had just recently had together, and the third grade boy was talking about when he gets frustrated and what he does. The social worker and the boy began to talk about Mighty Eagles, and who his Mighty Eagles were. The boy respond, Miss Uricchio is a Mighty Eagle. The social worker asked why and my student said, “Because she tells me I can do it and she is proud of me”.
When the social worker told me this, I was so overwhelmed. I knew that since I began my job in January, I had made a special connection with this child, but for him to say that I am a Mighty Eagle really made my day! Teachers take so much time trying to have everything perfect and planning extravagant activities, but all the kids want to know is that someone cares and believes in them.
Take time to be your kids’ Mighty Eagle.
What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches. ~Karl Menninger
Source: http://www.quotegarden.com/teachers.html
Kidspire 
I love the strategy! Thanks for being his Mighty Eagle! Students need to always have those Mighty Eagles to enable them to get to where they can be. I know the days are sometimes rough, and the rewards are not always immediate, but treasure this! Keep it in the back of your mind for the days when it’s not always so evident. It definitely helps!
What an amazing story! You are so right about how teachers worry about planning, planning, planning. It is so easy to get bogged down in making everything fun and exciting. The best days are really when the teacher and the kids are happily working together in harmony. It really seems like you have a good rapport with your students, and that will keep their motivation and engagement up and their frustration level down.
First of all, I LOVE the angry birds coping skills. That’s something that I need to bring into my classroom of second graders. On a second note, what a moving story! Way to go Mary!