Sometimes on Sundays, when I’m getting ready for the week ahead, I just sort of gulp when I realize everything facing me for the week. Family errands. Doctor appointments. A paper to write. Committee meetings. Research to read. Robotics Club. Grant projects. Parents to call. Projects to get started or finish up. Lessons to finish writing. So much to do. I tend to lump the week together into one big jumble of things in mind to ‘get through.’
In the process, I’m missing out.
I forget that each and every day in our classroom is part of something bigger. That gets buried in ‘stuff to do.’ These days? They are part of the entire learning experience a student will have in their year spent with us. One day? It counts. These moments? They matter. The errands? They’ll get done. The kids? I need to stop. I need to have those conversations that matter. Listen to the things that are important to them. Create lessons that involve the kids in the experience, that are guided by their learning. I need to close the door. Learn with them. Stop watching the clock and thinking about the things I need to do. The day of learning? It isn’t something to “get finished.” It’s something so much more. It’s something we need to focus on. Something we need to make ridiculously amazing.
And that? It’s been moved to the top of my to-do list.
