Notice how my last blog post was at the start of the school year, and this blog post is coming months and months later? Yeah…that was not how it was supposed to happen! 2020 was a year of big plans for me: figure out my career, start my blog, post a ton of awesome resources, do totally rad stuff with my family and friends, exercise, eat right, always use my travel mug…all that good stuff. Instead, like so many of us, 2020 became about keeping my head above water. And, you know what, I didn’t drown, so high five I guess?!
Something I love about being in education is you get two new years: the start of the academic year and the start of the calendar year. I love taking winter break, to refresh, take stock, and figure out what is working and where I need to take a (few) mulligan(s).
As we enter this upcoming calendar year, this inventory seems more important than ever. I find myself wanting to help myself and my students not only set resolutions and pursue goals, but also tackle and accept those moments when we fall short or feel we have fallen short.
So, here are my 2 mantras as we ring in this new year:
Some Things Are Out of Your Control.
I am a really weird English teacher, drawn more to science writing and nonfiction than poetry. However, particularly as this year ended, I kept returning to a favorite poem of mine, To a Mouse by Robert Burns. 2020 was a year where we all were contending with so much beyond our control. The mouse in the poem who has her house crash in on her out of nowhere – I think we can all relate to that! I also can’t help but connect to my students here. If I as an adult feel such a lack of control, imagine how young people must feel now! How do we work through failures? Disrupted expectations? Plans ruined? These are all questions I think are worth addressing as we ring in the New Year.
I know Social Emotional Learning has become a bit of a buzzword, and it can seem like just another thing put on our plate during a time when our plate is already well past full. However, I do think SEL is definitely worth having on your radar, especially now. Taking a bit of time to help address the social and emotional side of our students can really pay off in terms of both academic achievement and the overall health and wellness of ourselves and our students. Plus, it doesn’t have to be a ton of extra work on your end. For me, the New Year seemed like the perfect time to mix in so SEL. Here’s a free little active reading activity over “To a Mouse” that mixes ELA content goals with what will hopefully be a good touch on Social Emotional Learning as well.
It’s Never Too Late.
My dear friend gave me the book, Am I Overthinking This: Over-Answering Lives Questions in 101 charts… She gets me! One chart I absolutely love in this book essentially says this: it’s never too late.
In my 20s I remember thinking it was too late to accomplish some of my goals. Heck, when I was a TEENAGER I remember thinking it was too late to accomplish some of my goals. For both myself and my students, I want to enter 2021 with this “never too late” mentality. I am reminded of Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator that I did an activity with a little while back. We are all procrastinating on something. Sometimes, all it takes is getting started.
With that being said, hopefully you will all be hearing a bit more from me this year. For more on suggestions for starting the year, please feel free to out my blog post about starting the academic year and my TPT shop for start of the year resources.