Reflection

As I sit here, preparing for the last day of school, I want to take a moment and reflect on this year.

There are things that I loved, things I could have done better, things that I wouldn’t change for the world. I have learned so much from my students and colleagues. I’ve built my PLN, learned about new things to try next year and gained some knowledge. I now have another year under my belt and have discovered that teaching really is what I’m meant to do.

Some things that I loved are getting to know a wonderful group of students and all the messiness that entails. And yes I even loved the ones that drove me batty. I wouldn’t change them for the world for they taught me about myself and have helped me hone my craft. They are the ones who drove me to find more effective ways to teach and reach them.

There are things I could have done better. As with anything, there are things I wish I had done differently. I wouldn’t be being honest with myself or you if I said everything was perfect. There were activities that failed, experiments that didn’t go as planned, and opportunities missed. I will never get this year back, I will never get another chance to impact my students’ life. If I could do it over again, I would had fewer worksheets and more hands on activities. I would have implemented genius hour for all my students, not just made it a project at the end. I would have used more of my Kagan strategies. Played more games.

But in the end, I am happy for my seniors and can’t wait to see what my juniors do next year. And I can’t wait to see what my seniors make of themselves. I hope I encouraged all of them and led them to a better life.