Make the Moments Count #Reflect31

Strangely on Friday night, as I continued through #Reflect31 I was working in my journal and thinking about a few special people that I miss dearly. One my being my mother, one being Rusty, a kind soul who showed me the ropes as a young administrator and then my thoughts swirled through many amazing people that have helped to guide my growth as an educator. Then sadly, Saturday mid morning I received the news that a wonderful young teacher who had a free spirit and an innovative mind, a 21st century renaissance man had tragically died in a car accident. He was an art teacher for a few years and my fondest memory is of a trip to our state art contest where he helped move art and manage the event, working his tail off. He had a heart of gold and loved teaching because he knew he could make a difference.

This weekend I’ve been reflecting in a different way than I had imagined, even as I journaled on Friday night I wasn’t sure why was journaling about Mom and Rusty they had both been gone for many years and I guess that’s one of the lovely things about journaling you never know the path you’ll take. The next day when I learned the news about losing the young teacher, all I could think about was that it seemed as if providence had been in my mind. Teachers make a difference every day and every day we are in classroom matters. This young teacher only had one week with his students this year but I know that he made a positive impact on them. I had the privilege to attend celebrations of life for my Mom and Rusty, two educators in two different states with two very different styles and the thing I remember most is the number of former students that came out to tell sweet stories about the experiences with their teachers. What will your students remember about you and the community you create in the classroom? Will it be the sense of teamwork, sportsmanship and trust that Rusty instilled in his students? Will it be the sense of wonder, caring and advocacy for social justice that my Mom instilled in her students? Or could it be a sense of inquiry, innovation and critical thinking that our young teacher shared with his students? We need to remember to put first things first, students and our time with them is so very meaningful and precious. How will we make the most of every moment?

This week as we reflect consider the following;

8/20/19 - Day 20: Reflect on the experiences you create in your classroom and the memories you make with students. What is the story you want your students to tell when they leave your classroom?

8/21/19 - Day 21: Reflect on the community you create, what will your students remember about you and the classroom community? What words and feeling do hope will come to mind for them when they recall this community?

8/22/19 - Day 22: Reflect on the traits you hope to encourage or promote in your classroom, how will your students remember them and what will you to do model these traits to your students?

8/23/19 - Day 23: Consider your years of teaching, what are the memories and moments that make your smile? What is it about those moments that make your heart happy and how can you continue to find joyful moments like those this school year?

8/24/19 -Day 24: Reflect on your hopes and dreams for your students, when you consider the phrase “put first things first” what does that mean for you and your teaching?

8/25/19 - Day 25: As we reflect on our teaching and putting first things first, students! Our time with them is meaningful and precious, how will we make the most of every moment?

8/26/19 - Day 26: Reflect on the feelings you have about this coming school year…… if you had one word to describe your hopes for the year, what would it be? #oneword

My #oneword - LOVE ---- we need to send kindness and love out to students and educators #teachkindness #buildempathy #edchat #K12ArtChat #creativelyconnectededu @peterhreynolds