S7: E149 Five Priorities for Maintaining Energy and Effective Teaching for the Remainder of the Year

 Season Seven

Episode 149

Five Priorities for Maintaining Energy and Effective Teaching for the Remainder of the Year

This past Saturday I took my daughter to an outdoor party at a park.  It can be an interesting place to be in when you’re the parent of a student at the same school where you teach.  It’s a blessing for sure.  And it comes with it’s challenges too.  You want to be professional, honest but not divulging everything happening at school and oversharing, but also authentically yourself.  Two of the moms were standing around and one of them asked me if I was ready for summer.  I stopped and thought for a moment.  If I say yes, am I too eager to be done with this year?  If I say no, I’m not being completely honest.  How do I phrase it just right so that they know that I love what I do (because I do), but that I’m also tired and worn out and feeling this year’s stuff just like everyone else?  It took a little bit and then I shared “I’m trying to say this the right way because I love what I do, but yes - I’m so very ready.”  We laughed and moved on to talk about other things - like how big our kids have gotten and how crazy the year has been in general.  

I’ve had conversations with teacher friends online and at school and all of us are feeling this weight right now of having gotten so far into the school year.  Working so hard for so long and feeling exhausted, but knowing that there’s still weeks to go before the end.  We want to finish well.  We want to give our best.  We always have.  But we are also feeling the stress from having pushed for so long and taking on intense schedules, lots of demands and expectations, lots of changes and continued changes, and keeping a positive outlook while feeling defeated inside.  This past weekend was a shift for me.  We had it crammed full of things that would have been more typical of a pre-Covid weekend and we were go-go-go all weekend.  It made me think about 

1.  Time with God

Online church and writing out prayers, taking notes from sermons, reminding myself of what I know to be true, and trusting.  I have the song “Turn Your Eyes” sung by Natalie Grant on repeat these days.  Parts of it are based on the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”  The lyrics start out “ O soul are you weary and troubled no light in the darkness you see - but just one look at the Savior is life more abundant and free… so just look up your help is on the way… Turn your eyes upon Jesus”...  I’ll link the video clip of the recording here.

2. One day at a time

I can’t do more than one day.  How am I focusing on only one day… waking up 30 minutes early to stretch/do yoga, have quiet time.  When I arrive at work, I choose to do one task that is short and simple.  For lunch I’m packing lots of small snack size things that I can eat throughout the day instead of having one big lunch.  

3. Meet students where they are 

Satisfied with good over perfect.  Not letting perfect be the enemy of good.  In fact Beth Duhon talked about this in episode 147 and 148 regarding self-care.  At this point in the year we know where our students are and the climate of each class.  Some classes may not get as far as other classes.  Some classes need more movement.  Others are motivated through playing instruments.  Others need short instruction time and long practice time.  Others need short instruction - short practice - a little addition to the previous instruction - short practice - a little more added - and then more practice.  You know your students.  It is okay if not every class gets to do everything.  Meet your students where they are and focus on what they need, even if they don’t get to what everyone else gets to.  Or even if it means they get further than where everyone else gets.  Challenge them if they need to be pushed further.

4. Choose the concepts to focus on

We’ve been innovative and creative this year in figuring out how to teach concepts to students with restrictions we’ve never had before.  Each school did this differently, but we’ve all had something to work around that affected the way that we could teach.  A few of my restrictions have been teaching from a cart and going into classrooms, not being able to sing with students until a few weeks ago so we are now able to sing outside with masks socially distanced which has been so nice, new schedule that changed every trimester, and teaching hybrid with students online and in person all year.  Through it all I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do with students and that they’ve been joyful and creative and worked hard overall to learn.  But in total transparency - there are concepts I haven’t been able to get to.  How do you teach melody and singing canons and choral repertoire without being able to sing?  The answer is you don’t.  There are just some things that couldn’t be done despite all the creativity and ideas that could be found.  So I find myself - and you might too - having holes that will need to be filled next year.  And I’m also finding areas that students are excelling in.  Crushing it.  I’m being very focused on what I can teach the next two months and going deep with it rather than wide.

5. Take a personal day

I’ve seen more teachers finding ways to take one personal day this spring to help them through the other 50 or more that are ahead.  And I’m joining them.  This isn’t giving up on our students.  It’s not saying that we don’t want to work.  It’s preserving our love for the teaching occupation and allowing ourselves to take a day to just be.  It’s reserving time for ourselves in a different way.  It’s using the time we are given by our districts and our employers - the time that often isn’t carried over into next year that we rarely if ever use up - and using them for what they’re there for.