As I think of the year's map of teaching and learning, I realize that the year has times that are more and less challenging.
I typically find the start of the year to be an exciting, hopeful time of the year. Everyone is filled with interest and enthusiasm about the promise that awaits. In contrast, I find these early spring weeks of testing, testing, and more testing to be trying weeks of the year. The tests challenge our routines, support, and services, which, in turn, challenges the children. Yet, I remain on the fence about the worth of these tests--I see both positive aspects of the tests and less positive aspects of the tests. I think the key is to reduce the number of tests--that would help a lot.
Parent-teacher-student conference times of the year are challenging too since those conferences add a lot of time and work to our already full schedule. We can remedy that by thinking differently about how to schedule these conferences. Further a curriculum program that equals well more than a school year's time adds stress too. Making these program expectations more reasonable would lessen stress.
The end-of-year focus on project based learning is a positive focus, however, which ends the year with enthusiasm similar to the start of the year.
The year's map marks the teaching/learning journey--an imperfect journey that includes lots of positive routines, some moments of wonderful excitement, and sometimes too-great challenges too. How we navigate that year together and on our own matters.
