THIS is IT!

It is that time of year. The excitement of a brand-new year school year is fading into the reality that we are going to be at this for a while. The students have settled in and are now comfortable enough with us and each other to show their true selves. We are no longer assessing someone else’s teaching; it is our teaching we are evaluating.

It is getting real, and many teachers are thinking, This is it? This is what we are up against? Students with learning differences need so much extra help, there’s not enough time in the day to teach the benchmark skills required, and we’re overwhelmed by the feeling that we won’t have enough energy to spin all the plates for the next eight months until summer break.

This is it? Or can we think of that question a different way?

This is it! It is all of the ways that I can help that struggling student take just one more step toward success. It is the way I can connect with a child and find out why he needs so much attention and maybe have a great moment of clarity on how tomorrow can be better. It is the moment of excitement when a reader starts to read, a writer begins to write, and a math problem is finally mastered. It is when eyes look up at you with excitement and you know you are making it happen for the students in front of you. 

When all of this starts to bog you down, try emphasizing a different word and remind yourself that everything you do is important work, it makes a difference, and even on the hard days, you are the one who knows how to make it happen!