Teacher Truth #24 – Accomplish the Small Things

With warmer weather, more sunshine and less indoor recess, hope finally begins to bloom. Hope that if we work hard now, when summer comes we will be ready to relax. Hope that if we just finish this year, maybe next year will be better (even if we do doubt this dubious notion). Hope that each small task accomplished is one small step forward.

Wintering as a concept has come up recently in Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s newsletter, Ness Labs. The concept of resting intentionally I believe created space for this next season of spring, starting with April and the rain. A slightly warmer rain that brightens the flowers and delights the birds. A soft, spring rain that helps bring everything back to life. An eternal rain that causes weeks of indoor recess, aka hell on Earth.

One small task at a time, I keep whispering to myself, I can do hard things. One task leading to another and eventually to do lists finish long term projects I never thought possible.

Teacher Truth #25 Rainy Days can be the best, or the worst

April showers bring bullshit behaviors, then maybe some May flowers later on. The endless days of indoor recess leave me with nightmares of basketballs and screaming children. Students running into me and then not even noticing or taking the time to recognize their imminent peril.

By the end of some rainy days, I am absolutely exhausted and ready to go home and take a nap. On other days, with the right class, and the right students absent that day, miracles can happen on a rainy day. With God as my witness I have had delightfully British rainy days cozy as a butterfly in its cocoon in my classroom. Students reading on cozy corners and with real books, others working silently. I even get to do some of my own work, secretly in the coziest corner I can find.

Maybe that’s the emerging from the wintering, starting to be more productive and also allowing for rainy day slow moments. As spring softens the world around me, this is the first time I feel myself relax, ready to rest for the next season of summer. Only one month left now!