And also, returning to blogging!
As each calendar year begins, it’s typically a time when people think back on how the previous year went and what they want to do differently. For those of us who are teachers, though, it often makes more sense to think of summer break as the shift from one year to the next. January is the midpoint; an opportunity to look at how things are going and what we want to do to work toward the goals and hopes we had as the school year began.
If you look at the dates on these reflections, you’ll notice that I haven’t posted anything since last school year. At the end of that year, I made a choice that resulted in a major change. I’m still teaching, but I’m at a different school this year. And although I was teaching a course that I’m familiar with, I had limited resources to work with and basically had to start from scratch, creating a pacing guide, unit plans, lessons, instructional materials, assignments, assessments, graphic organizers – ALL of it.
It was exhausting, and sometimes overwhelming.
But fortunately, since this school also works on a semester schedule, I’ll be returning to the same course with my resources mostly complete, and some new ideas based on what did and didn’t work last term. I also have another course; this one is new to me, but has a lot of resources available from the teacher who developed it. The downside is that I’m not familiar with it, so I still kind of feel like I’m playing catch-up. However, while it’s an academic course, it’s an elective, and not one that has a lot of weight attached to it (like a computer science or agriculture elective, which can be part of a student’s graduation pathway and therefore necessary to pass). So although I don’t want it to feel pointless for students, it would be better to err on the side of making it too easy than making it frustratingly difficult.
I’ve also been thinking about my word for the year. My 2023 word for the year was “priorities.” I did a lot of reflecting on what values were important to me, and I used what I learned from that to make sure that what I did aligned with my values. It’s very easy for me to over-extend myself, so those reflections did lead to letting go of some of the things that I cared about, but which were keeping me from being able to act effectively on other things that were more important to me.
For 2024, I’ve chosen the word “sustainable.” I’ve begun working on some long-range projects that align with my values. So I want to focus on following through on what I am committed to, while still ensuring that I keep my priorities in an appropriate order. This will mean keeping the end goal in mind, making certain that I don’t overcommit in the short run and that I’ve made room to care for myself and my family in the present, while also reflecting on the progress I’ve made and adjusting plans as needed to keep heading in the direction I want to go.
Progress isn’t linear, and sometimes it can seem absolutely glacial! But if I keep my progress sustainable, I will be able to persevere through challenges and frustrations.
Teaching Reflection 