Do you apologize to your students?

Photo credit: Chicago Theater Beat

I was a bad teacher today. I lost my cool, which rarely happens in a student-centered classroom, especially near the end of the school year.

A student got a little loud, and before I knew it, I had moved his seat and engaged in a war of words that left the rest of the class in shock.

This awful scene started when I put the student on the spot for something extremely insignificant. This was not a proud moment for me, as it could have easily been avoided, had I dealt with things as I've done all year -- with patience and collaboration.

Upon further consideration, I tried to pardon the act by telling myself that it's the end of the year; it's hot, and all teachers are starting to lose it. This didn't help.

I did, however, feel better when the student came to me after school and apologized. I was happy that he admitted to his own wrongdoing.

I was even happier that I got a chance to apologize to him for my own role. It felt good to do it.

So, have you ever apologized to a student? What happened?