You’ll Always Remember How It Ends

Boy, has this been a year! Surviving the spring alone with school closures, online classes, social distancing, and all the other unprecedented madness due to the coronavirus was a feat in itself. No testing, canceled proms, and virtual or parade-esque graduations … this has certainly been an interesting wrap to this school year. Teachers, we know you’ve done your best to continue to be engaging for your students, who most likely struggled to stay engaged with you. As many states and districts are working out what the fall will look like, we wanted to help you make sense of this year and bring it to a close.

To that end, we’ve compiled a checklist of things you can do to ensure you can leave 2019-2020 behind on a high note.

• Reflect on the year: 
  • What was your greatest accomplishment? 
  • What was the most positive thing that happened to you or for you?
  • What was your best assignment? Why?
  • In what area do you feel you grew the most?
• Make a plan for next year:
  • What is an academic goal you’d like to achieve next school year?
  • What is a personal goal you’d like to achieve next school year?
  • Use the things that worked this year (planning strategies, study habits, lesson activities, etc.) and build upon them to make them better.
• Get rid of the old/bad/negative:
  • Recycle old work that no longer serves a purpose.
  • Clear up the clutter that accumulated in your space.
  • Reflect on the negative and use it to make new goals for next year. Then, throw it away!
• Be thankful!
  • Show gratitude to the people around you who have helped you through this year (the teacher next door who watched your class in those bathroom emergency times; the custodian who always made sure to leave an extra Clorox wipe or two for you; the lunch lady who never slopped your food on the plate, etc.).
  • Be grateful for the experiences you had this year, the good and the bad.
  • Show appreciation to your family and friends who have walked through this school year with you; through the ups and downs, the late nights and the victories, the cake-walk days and the virtual classroom days, they were there with you, holding your hand, cheering you on, or pouring you a glass of wine.

Whatever you do, wherever you are, however you survived this year, we just wanted to help you make sure this year closed on a positive note. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, for sure, but you will always remember how it ended. Take one, a few, or all of our suggestions to make it the best conclusion to this crazy year.

“Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.” – Haim Ginott