Skip to main content

Resetting Responsibly

In the children's book, Archibald's Next Big Thing, written by Hollywood sitcom star Tony Hale, Archibald is always looking for the next BIG THING. From chickenwire roller coasters to ocean wonders to tacos with robots, Archibald struggles to be satisfied with what he has because the next BIG THING is forever on the horizon. While Archibald is, in fact, a chicken, we can all find a little January peace by learning from his story and using our resolution energy to focus on resetting.

As we enter the height of resolution season, I am trying to ground myself in reality with some definitions. According to Oxford Languages, within the definition of resolution are words like "firm decision" and "determined." However, the word reset has meanings that include phrases like "adjust" and "fix in a new or different way." As we all contemplate 2023, there is a pull toward the next BIG THING in education. What completely new teaching paradigm will solve our issues with student apathy? Will an overhaul of our curriculum yield the results we are looking for? 

The thing is, huge changes and resolutions can feel overwhelming. And education is already overwhelming enough.

Rather than overwhelm with firm decisions and determinations, I'm going to head into 2023 by adjusting and looking at what I am already doing with a fresh perspective. For example, one buzzwordy area of education post-Covid is social-emotional learning. Instead of resolving to adopt an entirely new SEL program, can we look at what we currently do through an SEL lens and simply make adjustments that are better for everyone's well-being?

Let's say your class currently takes brain breaks that have students walking around the building or looking at their phones. In order to simply adjust what you already do, try a calming techniques tournament in the classroom along with creator and Virginia teacher, Josh Rooke. Students still get a brain break, but they also learn their own strategies for calming and focusing their minds. If the tournament approach feels like too much, just try out a few of the strategies with students and see if they have more impact than your usual brain breaks.

While the best way to reset isn't always yoga or brain breaks, those do provide relief in the moment and help you think clearly about the strategies you are using. When our minds are focused and clear, we can consider additional tweaks to practices that no longer serve us or our students. Are there small adjustments that can make our grading practices more consistent and equitable? Can we create fewer paper tasks and engage in more classroom discussions to save teacher prep time and student cognitive load? Ultimately, what small adjustments to our current practices can we make to create better habits in 2023?

If you are also looking to reset your practices this January, consider the following sources of inspiration:

1. The Happier Podcast by Gretchen Rubin

Using tools such as "Don't Break The Chain" and "One Sentence Journals," Gretchen Rubin has created an empire helping people understand that 40% of what we do is habit. In order to be happier, we have to create better habits. In the classroom, any of these tools could be used to make a slight adjustment to a unit you already teach. Students can complete a one-sentence learning journal at the beginning or end of every class as a retrieval practice, or your class could monitor homework, reading, or another skill with the don't break the chain tracker. The tools are endless, but they are not the point. The goal is to think about the psychological safety of our learning environment and consider any tool that might help us hold students accountable in creative and effective ways.

2. The Onward Book by Elena Aguilar

Elena Aguilar has spent the last several years creating books, workshops, and a podcast that emphasize emotions and resilience. Her website is full of downloadable tools meant for exactly the kind of resetting mindset we may want to embrace this year. The activities are generally short and require you to reset, reframe, reconsider, and ultimately embrace your emotions in order to become more resilient. Her sixty ideas for building community may be just the thing we need to provide small actions to improve mental well-being in our educational spaces.

Instead of creating resolutions based on the next BIG THING, take a cue from Archibald the chicken and stay present in the BIG THING you are already doing. Collect some data on how your current practices are working. Check in with your students to adjust strategies until you get them right for everyone. Work on what you want to do more consistently, efficiently, and competently in 2023, and find tools to support that.

In other words, use January for a reset, but do it responsibly. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Be a Vibe

 At 2.2 billion dollars, the Era's Tour is the highest-grossing tour ever. Why?  Because Taylor Swift is an absolute VIBE.  When she released her first song in 2006, did our Wildest Dreams tell us what we would eventually know All Too Well ? Taylor's energy crosses generational boundaries and has become a worldwide phenomenon. So, let's put on our Cardigan , get Fearless , and think about how we can all bring a little Swiftie energy to our classrooms this year. Robert Marzano, an educational researcher whose work spans decades, identified four areas of student engagement in his 2020 book, Improving Teacher Development and Evaluation . The areas of attention, energy, interest and intrigue, and personal motivation are all vital to moving from compliance to authentic engagement in our classrooms. Often at the secondary level, however, energy takes a backseat. In order to maintain a highly engaged classroom,  it is vital to consider the less sexy aspects of student eng...
Post a Comment
Read more

Educational Theory via Airport Restrooms

Most airport restrooms are nothing to write a blog about. However, I recently traveled through the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and had a magical moment. With the push of a button, a sanitized toilet cover rolls around and covers the seats in their restrooms. That one moment of reprieve from the horror of an airport restroom was relatively inspirational. In our classrooms, we sometimes need a sanitized cover to scoot out and save us. A quick refresh on a day when we're a bit in the dumps...so to speak. Perhaps we need a lesson for a substitute and don't have the energy to create it. Or maybe we did not get a lesson ready because our plan period was taken by a meeting or event. There are a million different reasons why our plans might be in the toilet, and we all have moments when we need something magical to save the day.  Here are three things we can do to sanitize and refresh a crappy lesson day: Premade Choice Boards If we want an easy button lesson, try...
Post a Comment
Read more

Daylist Delights

 I was recently listening to my Summer Camp 2010s Monday playlist on Spotify and bopping along to Daya's "Sit Still, Look Pretty" when I thought about how happy the daylist concept makes me.  Do I want to listen to some of those songs? No.  But do I feel seen, respected, and valued by the AI that took the time to get to know my music and make a little list with a funky name just for me? Absolutely.  So, as the year draws to a close, I encourage all of us to daylist our classroom whenever possible to successfully survive this last stretch. At this point in the year, we know our students well. Some of them too well. Use that knowledge to create activities that introduce students to some new ideas, create interventions to meet students where they are, or just find some fun games to end the year with a smile. Some lists I've curated to meet whatever needs you have this May: Daylist 1: Rage Girl Dinner Monday Morning ***For the moments when you need structure to decrease...
Post a Comment
Read more