"Be a reflective teacher. Honestly look at what you do from time to time. Evaluate the purpose of your role as a teacher."- Robert John Meehan
Like
most teachers, I find the last dismissal of the year bittersweet. I evaluate
myself and the job I did guiding young minds to develop critical thinking
skills. Did they get how to analyze something? Will they just mindlessly accept
things or judge them for the use of logic? Did they grow as writers, being able
to articulate their thoughts in a logical progression of connected ideas?
I
don’t have any illusions of myself as an educator. Just as with everyone there
are hits and misses. But when the hits happen, they feel like home runs. This year
seemed to be filled with more singles and doubles than grand slams. What contributes
to sub-par batting averages? I think it’s engagement. If students take an
interest in a topic, home runs will be more prevalent.
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Image courtesy of Peter Chen ThePaintedBaseball.com |
So
school’s out. Now what? How will I fill my summer? My pattern has been to take
June and July “off” so to speak. I need to recharge and re-energize myself so I
try not to think about lesson plans and new ideas. Instead I visit friends and
relatives and tackle projects I put off during the school year. Like cleaning
closets. Ugh!
But
even though I say I “take” June and July off, I still find my thoughts wandering
to the upcoming year. When I least expect it, it seems, I get a great
school-related idea to flesh out at a later date. For those moments, I keep a
notebook handy or use my notes section in my smartphone. I’ll often dictate the
idea onto my phone where I can access it later.
School
is indeed out. I look forward to a summer of fun and relaxation and learning. I
will continue to read books and plan on attending the first ever Google Summit
that’s coming to town. I’m also jazzed about attending and presenting at the
state English teacher’s conference.
But
aside from those activities, I plan on taking some bike rides, having coffee
with friends, mowing the lawn and reading. Blissful days spent on the porch
with a book in hand and lemonade on the table next to me.
I’m
looking forward to my “do-nothing” days, knowing that all too soon batters will
be up, looking for me to throw them “home run” pitches. It’s the break I take
in June and July that helps me be a consistent pitcher. I may not get a multi-million dollar contract,
but the satisfaction I get from feeding my students the right pitch can’t be
beat.
By
relaxing in June and July, I’m ready to say, “Batter up” in the fall.