Teach to the End

[Shawn McCusker]

The last few weeks I have felt all of the typical end of the year stresses.  It is harder to get out of bed.  It is much more tempting to just go home after school.  But this year I have manages to prevent myself from succumbing to these tempatations. In fact I feel like the momentum I have is increasing because rather than holding on until the end of the year.  I have been implementing a new lesson, a new assignment or a new learning objective nearly every day.  I have been cataloging things that I have wanted to try since I first started using twitter last year and following #sschat early this year.  After going throught he intial lurker phase, and moving into the active participant phase, I have now moved into the implementation portion of the twitter cycle of development.  I find that the ideas and conversations that I have taken part in are now flowing into the things that I do and it isn't requiring the effor that
I thought it would take. 

It has taught me some important lessons and reminded me of a few that I learned before but need to be reminded of.  First off, teachers need to direct their own growth, assess themselves and address their own needs in a way that no amount of school organized inservices can.  Secondly, teachers have to fulfill their obligations to the school board, the
state and the government and they should, but there are other needs that we need to focus on that the powers that be will not nuture.  So we must.  There won't be inservices to address these needs, so we will have to do so independently. Finally, I have realized that when my mind is focused on growth, mine or the students, my classroom has a completely different energy about it.  In the last two months I have created a better vision of where I am going in the classroom than I have in the last four years and I am taking steps to get there.


It is for these reasons that my classes have been going really well lately. I have things to accomplish and I am not waiting until next year to get them done.

[Heather Woodland]

Thanks Shawn for your post. I have had a significantly better year thanks to the great Twitter info (and other sources) that has allowed me to change myself and my lessons. However, I have to agree with the comment from Kay--my school is now in exam writing mode...I have taught right to the end...(though have left pretty early lately :)

[Regina Schaffer]

I am completely burned out.....so much so I am hanging out here instead of checking my ustream channel for tomorrow's presidential smackdown, grading assignments, commenting on student's google docs, etc....I feel like I sprinted through the school year instead of treating it like a marathon, saving some energy for the last 100 yards!

[Elise Tyrrell]

 

This has been my first year teaching and I am definitely feeling burned out! I find, though  that twitter and #sschat, specifically, has so much positivity and so many great ideas that it keeps me motivated to teach to the end.

It has been an interesting year, one where I have learned so much, that it is hard for me to stay focused on this year and not to start thinking about what I am going to do next year.

[Kay Conners]

Thanks, Shawn, for this post. I, too, have been feeling stressed and discouraged for a variety of reasons- most of which has to do that the entire focus in my school is our end of course testing. Every lap top in my school is devoted to multiple choice testing. But I have decided, in the midst of finals and other testing, I am going to pursue learning with my students and thus began a project to end the year with learning. This group has been inspirational to keep me focused on what it truly important - student learning. Thanks, again.