Over the last few years, I’ve committed myself to the same resolution when the calendar changes to January 1. I will go to bed before 11.This is a simple goal and has a noticeable impact on my well-being.
Yet here I am mid-January wide awake and typing away on the computer at 11.30 pm.
Holidays lull every teacher into thinking we have superhero stamina. The enforced downtime enables time for reflection and results in a desire to don a cape on return to the classroom.
The result?
Edu-resolutions.
- Do less talking and more listening to my students.
- Set a timer on my watch to make transitions smoother.
- Email class parents with positive anecdotes about their child at least once a week
- Set aside time each week to make awesome wall displays of student learning.
- Sort out that pile of papers sitting in my filing cabinet by Friday.
- Get back into the habit of blogging at least once a week.
The first week of teaching reminds teachers we are mortal. By Thursday I’d broken resolution 1 and 2. Those papers will be mocking me from filing cabinet at the end of the year. By the end of the next holiday, I’ll come up with a similar mental shopping list of SMART targets.
As an inquiry teacher, I wondered why do we routinely make resolutions we don’t keep?
- Procrastination. Why did I wait until the holidays to decide I needed to take action?
- Direction. What might this action achieve? Is it really worth spending my precious time on?
- Practicality. What’s stopped me from taking action in the past? How might I achieve this goal? What might I need to stop doing?
Then the answer came to me.
Drawing on Kath Murdoch’s one word intentionally and Amy Burvall’s visual metaphor, cellar door is a euphonious metaphor for my new year question.
How might I ask more beautiful questions?
What is inquiry, if not the art of creating a more beautiful question?
Teaching the Teacher 
Hi Stephanie, thanks for linking in Kath Murdoch’s ‘and the word is…?’. What a great read. I will be sharing that with my colleagues as a way to reflect on what we want to be or do as teachers to better help our students. I think my word would be ‘relax’ – enjoy the little things in class and remember to take time for myself at night and on weekends.
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Hi Ashley,
Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m glad your word is relax I think it’s a great one for BTs as the job can get so overwhelming. Actually all of us can probably do that..
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