Thursday's List: Things I Learned This Past School Year.

Summer Alice is back, but before I get too comfortable and distanced from this past school year, the first List of Things will be about things I learned this school year.  And, if you aren't an educator, you don't know exactly how long and hard this past school year was.  This is not me complaining, but it felt like ten years.  Students came with more baggage than they usually do.  There was more apathy than I have ever seen in my 22-year career.  My fingers are crossed that it is still the remnants of COVID coming through.  I have heard that next year's freshmen will still be hard, but the 7th graders from this year, that will be freshmen the year after this next one, have seemed to turn a corner.  

Anyway, Here is the List of Things I've Learned At School:

1.  Burnout is real.  I was at the lowest point this year.  I even looked to see what other things I could be doing for work.  I haven't ever done that before.

2.  Kids after COVID are tough...is it just COVID?  Have I changed so much after my experiences through the pandemic?  Is it a hard group of kids because of where they were during COVID?  I won't go into my anxiety about it never going away.  

3.  I have a lot of support at work, and I have to seek that support.  

4. I also have a lot of non-supports at work.  I realized I had to pick and choose my tribe.  Some peeps have my back and some do not.

5. Classes are temporary.  I think I have always known this, but I really have thought a lot about how temporary things are.  I thought I was going to sink with one class this year, but within a few months, that class completely changed because the dynamics changed.  Kids were added and more importantly, kids were taken out of that class. The time I have with each of my students is limited.  I need to make the most of those moments.  I will never ever have those classes again....of course there still are a few classes that I am very glad they will not repeat.

6. Along the same lines as #5, Seniors leave.  There will always be kids that I miss so much as they graduate and move on with their lives.  There are also others that I will forget quickly...

7. My office can be a sanctuary.  It IS a sanctuary. I have created a space for myself to just find calm and peace.  It is okay to sometimes hide in there, especially during lunch.

8. Enjoy the moments and people(turnover sucks). Being mindful of the moments you have with your favorites is important.  I will really miss a lot of the people who won't be working there anymore.  I hope friendships outside of work continue.

9. There are always good kids.  In fact, a few years ago, I told myself there really aren't any bad kids. When I have that mindset it is true, there are no bad kids. This year though, when I wasn't in that mindset, I was reminded that there still always are good kids in each of my classes.  There are always students who will help me, and there are always students who will do anything that is asked of them and they will have a good attitude.  Their shadow needs to always overcast the difficult students in my mind!

10. You do not need to grade everything.  Enough said!