So, today I started really digging in and planning for next year. I know, I know...teachers have the summer off. Yeah, right. Now that last year is really last year, next year is starting to become this year. As I got into details of planning and projects and goals and such, I became really excited. Next year is going to be quite a challenge. That scares me, but aren't they all? I mean, I've never seen a year that doesn't give you some time of challenge. Sometimes the challenge is a new school or a new class (maybe the ONE CLASS you never wanted to teach), maybe it's a group of students you've heard the horror stories about or an administration that doesn't back you up (or worse). And sometimes, you don't know the scariest challenge until the year is already in full swing, and there's no time to prepare for it. You see, teachers can't be afraid of challenges. It's what we do. It's what we help our kids do every day. Of course, we all dream of that elusive year we hear about where we're already prepared for everything thrown at us, and we can coast through the year. Then, we're often shocked when most years feel like our first year teaching again. When it comes down to it though, at least for me, I know deep inside I will never have a coasting year. It's just not in me. I mean, I get used to the whole teaching thing, and I definitely reuse things from year to year, but every student is different and every class is different. So, even if I do finally teach the same thing several years in a row, I expect I will always reinvent the wheel to an extent.
Why?
Coasting Doesn't Make Progress.
Yes, you roll forward, duh. I know this, but you are limited in so many ways. To really make progress, you have to pedal. You have to not be afraid of the hills. (And sometimes, when things get pretty tough, you may even have to walk your bike for a while.) This is how you'll really make progress. This is how PRs are broken.
So, yes, I'm already aware of one of the challenges for next year, and it's also one of my favorite things about next year, too. And a funny thing happened when I started my reading for one of the classes I'm taking this summer. I started praying for my classes next year. Not that I would survive the struggles or that it would be easier, but I started praying for my classes to be full of grace and love. I prayed for my kiddos to see Christ in me. This was such a blessing to me. It sure didn't come from me. This was a nice 2"x4" from the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful that He intercedes for us. Now, I will pray for them to understand the math and see God's glory in the framework of the world around us, that through learning math, they will see the patterns which will bring Him glory, and that in finding success, they will find confidence and see that He can do great things through them. I'm just so thankful where it started. Yes, Lord, You're right. May my classroom be a place of Your Grace and Your Love first! Bless my students now and get them ready for the year ahead and the challenges they will face. This year is Yours. Help me not to get lost in the day to day and forget this.
Me? I'll be fine. I teach math; what's your super power? (Seriously though. My super Power is His infinite Power with me everyday.) I'll be fine because I know coasting doesn't make progress, and I'm ready to set PRs and break them!
From my reading: "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-10
