by Curtis Cunningham, SPS Professional Learning Specialist
May marks the culmination of months of planning and work. We all want to finish strong. While this is a very common colloquialism, I wonder what might happen if we entertain a different perspective for the month of May-- What if we decide to continue strong?
Continue Focus:
It might be we have addressed all of the elements of our curriculum guide and are considering how to deepen or extend our students’ learning. It might be we are prioritizing the most important “big rocks” to hone in on during this time. Consider the following questions. What might be a topic that would be important to review? What might be crucial understandings students will need to be successful in the next grade or next level of your content area? What might be some topics you would like to cover based on student interest or learning profile? While the bulletin boards might come down at the end of the month and the books might be inventoried, there are still opportunities between now and then to communicate to our students that learning can continue through the summer and serve as a spring board to the next school year.
Continue Impact:
We have heard it said, “Once a teacher, always a teacher” and many of us have realized that in our personal lives. That is why we want to redirect children we encounter at Walmart or work so intently with children in our families. Our role as a teacher never really stops. To illustrate this point, try to remember the name of a favorite teacher. Perhaps you have regular communication with this individual, if not, imagine a conversation with him or her. How would you refer to them? What might be your default? I recently had the opportunity to interact with my Kindergarten teacher. I was surprised by my immediate reaction. “Hello, Mrs. Potts.” Even though it has been decades since I was in Kindergarten, I still refer to her by her surname. She will forever hold a special place in my life, as will all of my teachers. Our role of teacher will never stop. It might be that we no longer have daily interaction with this particular group of students. It might be that we will no longer provide feedback on their progress, but we can be assured that we will always hold a place of teacher in their lives. We continue learning, we continue our role as teachers, we continue our impact.
Greg Anderson, founder of Cancer Recovery Foundation International, encourages all of us to “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it.” As teachers in the month of May we have a choice. We can focus on the finish line or we can continue to enjoy the journey with our students know that learning and teaching never really end.
An old Chinese proverb states “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” Congratulations on the successful completion of another academic year. Even more, congratulations for planning for a lifetime and hundreds of lifetimes over the course of the past nine months. As we head into summer-- rest well, enjoy family and friends and continue strong.
