This summer has been an ocean of emotions. My husband and I have worked tirelessly to keep our family safe. We also worked to achieve some normalcy for ourselves and our children. Even though the four of us were stuck together, we still went camping, visited some family and close friends, and started a new hobby, Geocaching! There have been many ups and downs.
So now we are nearing the end of the summer. Tensions are high everywhere about returning to school. There are more questions than I can list. No one knows for sure how it will go. Personally, we decided to keep our kids home for the first 10 weeks with the 100% virtual option. We are lucky that my husband works from home and we are able to do that. We are also lucky our school gave us a choice. And you know what? Everyone needs to make those choices for their own family. Only you can decide what is best for you and yours. We all need to be respectful of everyone's choices and yet follow guidelines for safety.
As we move forward into the unknown of the 2020-2021 school year, I have a few ideas to help people approach this uncharted territory. It won't be easy, even for me, but I have been trying to stick with these three practices. So far, they have helped me stay sane.
Mindset has been a buzzword that we as teachers have been preaching to our students for years. There is no question that having a Growth Mindset is important for all learners, kids through adults. Teachers should embrace this theory for themselves during these unpredictable times. We have lists of questions with few answers. There is no one to blame. It's not only community members, parents, students, and teachers who have questions; even our administrators have questions. We as educators have the ability to practice what we preach moving forward. We have to accept the fact that things will be unexpected, uncertain, and ambiguous. There is no one specific scapegoat here, except the virus. This is very difficult for many of us to go with the flow, but we have to believe that through effort and learning, we will get smarter and grow stronger.
This goes along with keeping a growth mindset. We are teachers but we always need to be teachable. Every year new theories, pedagogical skills, and research come out in the subject of education. The things I learned when I was in college have changed dramatically. Do some of them still apply? Sure. Are some theories just renamed to something new? Of course. But, that doesn't mean I gave up learning. Every day I try to better myself, personally and professionally. This school year specifically, all teachers need to allow themselves to be teachable to new skills, ideas, and theories. This school year will be my 17th year in education. I am going to try to take the perspective that it is actually my first year teaching. My supervisor loves metaphors, so I'm going to go with this one... Being an Instructional Coach is like being a gardener. 🌱 I will plant seeds of knowledge among my students (teachers). I will tend their needs while being patient and optimistic. Even when they struggle, I will work with them to help them grow. (Of course, I didn't make this metaphor up, there are many "Teachers are gardeners" metaphors online. I just have a green thumb and this one was very relatable to me!)
I know that this term gets used a LOT when people talk about what stresses them. Have you heard of the Circle of Control? If not, you can click the link to discover a more in-depth description. But basically, the idea of your Circle of Control is that there are only things that we can directly control. Some things we can influence and some things we can have a concern about but we cannot control them. I do not know one person who went into education because they didn't care about students. One of the most difficult things about being in education is that we cannot actually control everything that happens to our students. We can influence them and we can show concern, but we cannot directly control them. This year won't be any different, but the things we will be able to control will shift slightly. Decisions are being made at the federal, state, and local levels about what schools will look like. How much control do I have? Little if any. Sure, I vote, and I plan on it, but I have to understand that some things are just out of my control. I am there to support teachers and students and I will do so every way I can.
Am I worried and nervous? Sure! Like most teachers, I live by routine and I love having a plan. (One of my favorite before school activities is filling out my annual planner!). This year, I'm going to try to embrace the new! I am going to try to keep work during work hours. I am going to soak up as much new knowledge that I can. I am going to focus on things that I can control and put influence on where it belongs. I am also going to be the best Mama I can. I hope everyone else does the best they can for themselves and theirs. Remember, every day is a new day. Move forward, be positive, and have few regrets.
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| On a geocaching adventure in the 1000 Islands |
So now we are nearing the end of the summer. Tensions are high everywhere about returning to school. There are more questions than I can list. No one knows for sure how it will go. Personally, we decided to keep our kids home for the first 10 weeks with the 100% virtual option. We are lucky that my husband works from home and we are able to do that. We are also lucky our school gave us a choice. And you know what? Everyone needs to make those choices for their own family. Only you can decide what is best for you and yours. We all need to be respectful of everyone's choices and yet follow guidelines for safety.
As we move forward into the unknown of the 2020-2021 school year, I have a few ideas to help people approach this uncharted territory. It won't be easy, even for me, but I have been trying to stick with these three practices. So far, they have helped me stay sane.
1. Shift Your Mindset
Mindset has been a buzzword that we as teachers have been preaching to our students for years. There is no question that having a Growth Mindset is important for all learners, kids through adults. Teachers should embrace this theory for themselves during these unpredictable times. We have lists of questions with few answers. There is no one to blame. It's not only community members, parents, students, and teachers who have questions; even our administrators have questions. We as educators have the ability to practice what we preach moving forward. We have to accept the fact that things will be unexpected, uncertain, and ambiguous. There is no one specific scapegoat here, except the virus. This is very difficult for many of us to go with the flow, but we have to believe that through effort and learning, we will get smarter and grow stronger.2. Be Teachable
This goes along with keeping a growth mindset. We are teachers but we always need to be teachable. Every year new theories, pedagogical skills, and research come out in the subject of education. The things I learned when I was in college have changed dramatically. Do some of them still apply? Sure. Are some theories just renamed to something new? Of course. But, that doesn't mean I gave up learning. Every day I try to better myself, personally and professionally. This school year specifically, all teachers need to allow themselves to be teachable to new skills, ideas, and theories. This school year will be my 17th year in education. I am going to try to take the perspective that it is actually my first year teaching. My supervisor loves metaphors, so I'm going to go with this one... Being an Instructional Coach is like being a gardener. 🌱 I will plant seeds of knowledge among my students (teachers). I will tend their needs while being patient and optimistic. Even when they struggle, I will work with them to help them grow. (Of course, I didn't make this metaphor up, there are many "Teachers are gardeners" metaphors online. I just have a green thumb and this one was very relatable to me!)3. Circle of Control
I know that this term gets used a LOT when people talk about what stresses them. Have you heard of the Circle of Control? If not, you can click the link to discover a more in-depth description. But basically, the idea of your Circle of Control is that there are only things that we can directly control. Some things we can influence and some things we can have a concern about but we cannot control them. I do not know one person who went into education because they didn't care about students. One of the most difficult things about being in education is that we cannot actually control everything that happens to our students. We can influence them and we can show concern, but we cannot directly control them. This year won't be any different, but the things we will be able to control will shift slightly. Decisions are being made at the federal, state, and local levels about what schools will look like. How much control do I have? Little if any. Sure, I vote, and I plan on it, but I have to understand that some things are just out of my control. I am there to support teachers and students and I will do so every way I can.Summing it up
Am I worried and nervous? Sure! Like most teachers, I live by routine and I love having a plan. (One of my favorite before school activities is filling out my annual planner!). This year, I'm going to try to embrace the new! I am going to try to keep work during work hours. I am going to soak up as much new knowledge that I can. I am going to focus on things that I can control and put influence on where it belongs. I am also going to be the best Mama I can. I hope everyone else does the best they can for themselves and theirs. Remember, every day is a new day. Move forward, be positive, and have few regrets.
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