TL;DR:
- As teachers, we focus a lot on end results.
- Take the time to notice the small wins.
- Remember to enjoy the journey along the way.
Do you sometimes spend your time focused on the end result of a particular task rather than the process to get there? I think it is part of human nature to focus on the end and the success accomplished, rather than the path we take along the way.
But, I have been reminded a lot lately about putting less emphasis on the destination and more on the enjoyment of the journey we take to get there.
What if you took this approach for the school year?
As you are embarking on a new year and thinking about how you want everything set up (how you want procedures to go, how you want to teach certain subjects, or where you want your students to be at the end of the semester or year), what if you took a step back and began to enjoy the journey of it all?
I think about all my years of teaching and the stress I feel at the beginning of the year. There is an overarching desire to have everything perfect which leads to failure to allow things to happen and enjoy the moments while they are transpiring.
So, how can we enjoy the journey rather than put all of our focus on the destination? How can this be applied to the new school year as it begins?
Sometimes when we get caught up in the day-to-day activities, we fail to see the wonderful things happening around us. It is so important to pause, enjoy, and express the appreciation that we feel. Click To TweetStudents
As we begin to build relationships with our students, just take the time to learn about them. Enjoy those morning greetings. Pay attention to the things that make them smile. Listen with compassion when they tell a story. Hear the sweetness of their voice. Find out the things you have in common. Make them feel like they matter. Spend time in conversation about something that interests them. See them for who they are. Learn their name. Share a smile.
Taking the time to be in the moment with them and enjoy this journey you are taking together will pay dividends in the end.
Celebrate Small Wins
Instead of focusing on the end result and when a student reaches mastery, focus on the steps to get there. We know that not all students will reach it at the same time. We also know that some students will need more support. How we approach those situations and how we celebrate their small wins will make such a difference to their success.
Planning Time
When we plan, we definitely plan with the end result in mind. But what if we thought about all the small steps to get there and the potential small wins along the way? There is so much to be celebrated if we look at it from that perspective.
Where can we stop in the path and acknowledge the growth completed?
What if we stood at a standstill in the journey and anticipated the successes to come?
Where can we pause and celebrate where students are?
If we begin to look at it from this perspective, we may begin to see more clearly the success at the end.
Enjoy Those Around You
Embracing the journey allows us to enjoy the view. When we do that, we start to notice all the other people who play a part in the process. There are our colleagues, our support staff, the parents, and the whole school community. We begin to take those moments to celebrate them and express our gratitude. Sometimes when we get caught up in the day-to-day activities, we fail to see the wonderful things happening around us. It is so important to pause, enjoy, and express the appreciation that we feel.
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The Journey
Many times in life, I think we get caught up in the destination, but forget that there is a journey to get there. On this journey is where all the sparks, excitement, appreciation, gratitude, struggle, disappointments, and joy happen. If we don’t take the time to stop to see it and embrace it, then it will be gone. And when we reach the destination, we will quickly be looking for the next one, rather than appreciating how we got there.
In teaching, we look so much at the end result, but there is a journey that has to be navigated along the way. There is a path to get there, and there are so many obstacles and celebrations along the way where all the growth and learning happen.
As the new year begins, remember to take the time to see your students and take the time to celebrate their small successes. Take the time to enjoy the process and the hard work it took to get to each point. All of that accumulates into success in the end. That is where the true joy lies.
About Bridget Gengler
Bridget Gengler is a fourth grade teacher in Long Beach, California. She has taught bilingual education, general education, and GATE for the past 26 years. She’s passionate about building relationships and a strong classroom community that opens up doors of success for her students. She strives to empower all students to share their voices and their stories. Her class motto is “ You matter! You are important! You have a story to tell and we want to hear it!” She brings her love of reading and writing to the classroom in the hopes that it will promote lifelong readers and writers.
Bridget believes that self-care is essential in an educator’s life. She takes time to focus on gratitude, mindfulness and kindness during the day. She contributes this balance to her success in the classroom.
Family is number one for her! Her most precious job is being a mom to four young adults, an energetic lab puppy, and a wife to a wonderful husband. When she is not teaching, writing or reading she is creating memories with them. They love to travel, discover new restaurants, and watch professional baseball.
