Happy New Year, Teachers!
Here’s to a school year like no other.
1. Embrace the clean slate.
Leave the past in the past. FORGET about last year’s mistakes, shortcomings, failed relationships, bombed evaluations, or opportunities you may have missed.
While you’re at it, give your incoming students a clean slate, too. Don’t pay too much attention to the scouting reports.
2. Build caring community.
Students will learn when and if they feel safe, respected, and appreciated. Be intentional about making warm and friendly contact with each and every student from day one. Consider building classroom community and culture through circle check-ins every morning. And take advantage of every opportunity to build strong relationships with your colleagues, too. Learning thrives in strong communities.
3. Model learning and risk-taking.
Model a growth mindset and show authentic learning (including some inevitable failures) in your classroom and in front of students this year. Resist the urge to stay safe with the tried and true. Try some new things. Push yourself into uncomfortable spaces. And forgive yourself quickly when you fail … because failure = feedback.
4. Think 5 Cs.
(Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Curiosity) every day and in every lesson. It’s such a beautifully simple formula because it builds core competencies all over the place. If your students are engaged in two or more of the Cs, it’s probably a worthwhile activity. Cultivate curiosity at every turn instead of squashing it. Foster an inquiry mindset and create a climate of learning and spontaneous adventure through a culture of YES.
5. Keep your head in the game.
You say you’re still not on Twitter? There’s no time like the present to plug into non-stop inspiring professional conversations by creating your first Twitter account. Here’s why it’s a can’t-miss move, along with some practical tips to help you get going. And if you’re feeling lonely, tweet at me and let me know you just joined Twitter after reading this post! I’d be thrilled to connect.
While you’re building your professional learning network, try reading at least one page of an inspiring education book each night before bed. Listen to education podcasts (like Teachers on Fire) here and there on your commutes. We’re human beings — not education robots — so we can’t and shouldn’t be immersed in education 24/7. But get in the habit of finding gems of inspiration each day that can energize your work and inspire your practice.
6. Win the morning.
Perhaps this is the year to rethink and reimagine what you can achieve before the rest of the world wakes up. I’ve forced myself to become a morning person since the spring of 2016 and it’s been absolutely revolutionary. Here’s the why and how to make it happen.
7. Do what sets you on 🔥 without apology.
If it’s something that you love, that lights your fire, that fuels your imagination outside of your work, invest time in it without apology. You’ll be a better educator for it, and you’ll have more to offer your students.
Teachers often struggle to participate in anything self-indulgent because they feel overwhelmed by the guilt brought on by all the other school work they think they “should” be doing. But neglecting your personal passions for too long is a good recipe for joyless work and burnout. As Vernon Wright likes to say, enter the #ZeroApologyZone in terms of caring for your spirit.
