Twenty-one years into teaching, and I have to say making it to this fall break feels about as needed and gratifying as any other. Every year is very different from another; each class of students has its own unique identity. Sometimes the beginning stretch of the school year - traditionally from Labor Day weekend until mid-October - seems to fly by; other times the same stretch can be a slog.
This year, it's just been...different.
We started a week before Labor Day weekend, so we've just wrapped up our eighth week. To be honest, those eight weeks have flown by. But the phenomenon within this is that while the weeks have been fast, many of the days have been slow - a grind.
It could be easy to point at one particular thing or variable and say "Yup, that's it!" ... however, that just isn't the case this year. Students, work load, expectations, unique challenges...there isn't one thing out of that group that jumps out. This year just seems to have a lot of everything.
There has just been so much --> needs of students, meetings, feeling the push to play catch-up from the last couple of years, and back-filling/supporting so many typical 'non-academic' skills. Everyone - students, teachers, paras, administration, custodians, etc. - was very ready for a break this week! It'll be good for everyone to rest up and recharge.
Now, about those 'non-academic' skills I mentioned earlier...
Non-academic skills, soft skills, life skills...call them what you want. What cannot be ignored or underplayed is just how important these are, and how so many students are behind or lacking in having & utilizing these skills. Because of this, I have found myself doing a lot more teaching, mentoring, encouraging, and modeling the following skills:
-live in the NOW...not dwelling on the past or something that already happened that you can't change; not worrying about what's in the future or what might happen. Believing in the Power of NOW and taking action and living in the moment.
-showing up and doing the work EVERY DAY... this is hard for students, and also really hard to model (especially when you're tired, frustrated), but it's so crucial for young people to experience what it means to grind and get even 1% better each day, and to learn that every day and every class is an opportunity to get better, learn, and grow.
-listen to others and keep yourself open to new & different viewpoints...it's not required to have to agree or be best friends with everyone, but we're much better as a group, class, culture, etc. when we show that we can listen to and respect others.
-collaborate and work with others...we're all so connected now, and will only continue to be more so moving forward; kids have been online their entire lives but need to learn the value of truly connecting with others and how to share ideas, compromise, and work toward a common goal together.
-pragmatic problem solving...learning to analyze a situation, weigh pros and cons, think rationally about next steps to take...whether as an individual, as a group, for an academic problem or a personal problem - these are all skills students need.
-time management...learning how to plan ahead, budget time, and prioritize is so important and is something many adults may still struggle with...school can be such a great time with many chances for students to hone this skill and set themselves up for success in the future.
-reflection...this world is so fast-paced and filled with so much distraction, students don't take the time to look back on an experience - good or bad - and reflect on what happened, what worked and what didn't, and what could be changed/done differently in the future.
Thanks for reading and pondering! Hadn't written in a while and there's been plenty going on.
Media: giphy.com, peacock
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