TL;DR:
- Advice we give our students that we should take ourselves: keep your eyes on your own paper.
- In this time of uncertainty, our best is absolutely amazing.
Today I went for a run. It’s one of the things that keeps me mentally and physically healthy during this time of social distancing. It was a beautiful, somewhat foggy morning – birds were singing, Foo Fighters blared in my ears, and the forsythia was blooming. I was feeling strong. And energized. And fast.
And then the little voice in my earbuds told me my time for mile 1. Although I was feeling strong, energized and fast, I realized I was…well…slow. Like, a lot slower than I wanted to be. Compared to what I’ve recently been running, I felt disappointed. “Come on Suzanne, you can do better! You can run faster! What is going on today?”
And then I thought, these are my miles today. This is my run. This is my pace. I quit comparing myself to how I ran before and acknowledged what I was accomplishing right now. And then I kept running.
Which brings us to our current situation as teachers.
What does this have to do with teaching?
We are in mile 1 of a marathon with an undetermined distance. Many of us are sprinting towards a finish line we can’t see.
As we navigate this uncharted territory of distance learning and maintaining relationships with our students from afar, we can’t possibly compare our work today to what we were doing before. We have to pause to acknowledge what we are accomplishing right now. And keep on going.
We have to pause to acknowledge what we are accomplishing right now. And keep on going. Click To TweetSo let’s take a little advice that most of us have given our students at one time or another: Keep your eyes on your own paper.
But that can be tricky.
Social media might be tough right now.
I don’t know about you, but I see some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G things teachers are doing on social media. Some are using Teams or Zoom to connect with classes virtually. Some classrooms share and give each other feedback using Seesaw or other platforms. Some are sending personalized Pinterest perfect packages to families. It’s incredible.
But these amazing things others are doing can make me feel a bit inadequate. I’ve got to keep my eyes on my own paper.
Our best right now is good enough. It’s more than good enough. It’s downright incredible.
Are you great with technology and rocking virtual lessons or class meetings? Awesome.
Are you staying in touch with your kids using handwritten postcards and a stamp? Spectacular.
Are your students still reading, writing, and thinking with a simple book and journal? Fantastic.
Picking up the phone to check in with families? Outstanding.
I couldn’t keep up my regular pace during this morning’s run, and that’s OK. It doesn’t make me a bad runner. Just like we can’t keep up our regular pace during this uncertain time, and that’s OK.
It doesn’t make us bad teachers. Many of us are balancing multiple roles right now, and I am certain we are all doing the very best we can.
But if we constantly compare ourselves to others, we may never see that our best is good enough.
Find a pace you can maintain. Some days we’ll be moving faster or slower than other days and that’s OK. We are all going to be moving at a different pace. But we will all keep going.
I’ll see you at the finish line. We’ll all be cheering like crazy!
If you like this idea of ‘keeping your eyes on your own paper’, you may want to check out Tara M. Martin’s recent piece titled, Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Work.
[scroll down to keep reading]
Small Shifts. Big Gifts!
Scan for the good! Scan for the wins! Each day, acknowledge something you have done to help your home family, your classroom family, or yourself grow. Remember, these do not have to be revolutionary shifts – just something that helped move things in a positive direction. When we train our brains to look for the wins, it increases our likelihood of doing more in the days ahead.
ABOUT SUZANNE DAILEY
Suzanne Dailey is proud member of the Teach Better Family! She is an instructional coach in the Central Bucks School District where she has the honor and joy of working with elementary teachers and students in 15 buildings. Suzanne is Nationally Board Certified, a Fellow of the National Writing Project, and has a Masters Degree in Reading. She is dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole child and teacher. Suzanne lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
