Much of what it takes to teach or parent well has to do with focus--when you establish a good focus and then stick to it, you typically do well by your children and students.
Keeping the focus is not all fun and games. To keep the focus, to a large degree, means staying true to your goals even when the work is cumbersome and laborious. Yet, with every pursuit there is going to be elements of drudgery, and if you don't attend to those challenging tasks, you won't achieve.
So with the school year upon us, the to-do list carefully crafted, and a loose-tight curriculum map created, it's time to stay the course.
What does this mean in real-time action?
The Daily Routine
A positive routine of greeting students, completing early-day chores, teaching the curriculum, responding to students' needs, following established protocols, planning, prep, reading, and research.
Learning from Each Other
A collaborative approach towards teaching each child, developing pedagogy and the curriculum program, and maintaining an enthusiastic and respectful teaching/learning community.
Prioritizing
Knowing when to ignore and when to pay attention. Prioritizing elements of the essential goals and letting issues related to other matters go. No one can do it all, and everyone has to prioritize.
People First
Making the time to respond well to people first--go hard on problems, not people.
Healthy Routine
Healthy snacks, meals, healthy activity, and adequate sleep.
Helping One Another
Teaching well profits from positive, helpful collaboration.
Take Your Time
There's always an underlying temptation to rush to fit it all in, but children do better when you slow it down enough to pay good attention to every learner.
Make Mistakes
Mistakes will occur, accept that and learn from it.
Plan Ahead
Do what you can when you can as that keeps you organized and ready no matter what comes up.
Do Your Best
No one can do all or be all, but we can all do our best.
