You can ask any elementary teacher… first year as well as those in their 30-something-year… there is something about a teacher’s ‘inner calendar…’
We somehow know intuitively to begin preparing inwardly for the year ahead…
Mine comes in the form of early morning insomnia, woken by a growing to-do list that may or may not be related to the classroom… It comes like a manifesto of tasks before a voyage… demanding my attention…
“Permission to separate” ends at 11:59pm on July 31st. Come August 1st, even if I’m still on the summer agenda… something kicks in and there is no fighting it.
What time has taught me is that though my mind may be bombarded by “don’t-forgets” and “I-need-tos…” I will be most effective if I continue being in my moment now.
The lessons I will need are inevitably right before me… so even if my head is swirling, my best chance of a successful school year is to look and listen to the classroom that surrounds my every moment.
Today marks the first of many planning and preparing meetings for the 2023-24 school year. Taking on graduate student teachers calls for a certain level of sophistication for the content and delivery of instruction. But honestly, didn’t 4th grade require the same?
Always, my best bet is to look in the moment for what there is to be learned… If there is ONE lesson to start your year with, this is it…
