My
Grandfather died this week at the respectable age of 95. He – my Poppy - was
the most laid-back person I knew. He never got worked up about little issues
and always seemed to have a different perspective, from just about everyone
else, on most things. But this never bothered him. Attending his funeral this week gave me the
opportunity to chat with the family and the many friends he had and to listen
to their stories. Everyone had a story about Poppy. And as sad as it was, it
was a great opportunity for me to reflect on my relationship with him and the
way he had chosen to live his life. This then led me to contemplate my own life.
At
the start of this year I had very specific goals and things that I wanted to
achieve. We are nearly 3/4 of the way through the year and I have already
achieved most of those, plus more. I have happily put in lots of extra time and
thought into my projects and experimented with some creative learning opportunities
for the students, their parents and, even the staff. Professionally, I am very
proud of what I am doing and where I am headed. But perhaps I have let other
areas go unattended.
In
my haste to forge ahead, I haven’t taken the time to reflect on where I have
been. While I pride myself on being an innovative Teacher, always looking for
ways to make my lessons more exciting and engaging for my students. However, taking
more time to reflect on what we did in class and points which can be improved,
might just make those lessons more innovative, engaging and exciting - adding a
little more clarity and refreshing the ideas. Just last week I read the book, The most Magnificent Thing by Ashley
Spires to my Pre-Prep class. It is a
story about a girl trying to invent something magnificent but struggles for
ideas. Finally, she goes for a walk, taking the time to reflect and consider
what she has done and what she could do. Suddenly I realised that this simple
lesson from a picture book was one I could take on board myself.
On
my desk I have a quote from George Couros. It says “In a world that is constantly moving forward, if you are standing
still, you are falling behind.” I love this because it gives me motivation
to keep pushing to be a better teacher for my students but this is only part of
the story. Instead of blindly surging forward I need to learn from what I have
done and from what my students have taught me. Perhaps a better quote for me
would be one from U.S. businessman, Peter Drucker, which says: Follow effective action with quiet reflection.
From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. Definitely worth
thinking about!
Beyond the classroom, I need to take the time
to count my blessings for the wonderful opportunities afforded to me and for
the people in my life who take the time to encourage and support me. Without
them I would not have had the confidence to move beyond my comfort zone and
grow as both a person and a professional. Once again life keeps moving forward
and all too soon the moment to say ‘thank you’ has passed and so this is
another area of my life on which I would like to reflect.
