How can I create better learning experiences for my kids?

I ask myself this every day. Sometimes, I think it aloud. Most times, I dance with it quietly throughout my day. But it’s ever on mind, even when I am not aware of it. Yesterday, I was keenly aware of it.

I had found a quiet, less-behind moment in my day, and I had begun brainstorming “betters” for next year. And for me, that begins with listing. I’m a lister. And as I listed, I paused on “Learning Model.”

And I got to thinking about how I want learning to look and feel like in my room, and I was returned to the post embedded below where I had an aha about commitment.

Commit Meant: Project 180, Day 146

Since the post, I have begun–routinely–to ask my kids to complete and commit their work. But yesterday, I started thinking about my commitment, my dedication to something. And as I thought ahead to next year and the purer place I seek in the classroom, I thought of a way to daily display my commitment, which I believe is reflected in my support.

“Today, I will support your experience with (insert standard) by…”

I am going to call them “Teaching Targets.” I will use these instead of Learning Targets, of which I have never been a huge fan. That is not to say that they don’t serve. It is to say that they don’t serve what I seek in my room. Simply, I believe–as is ever the case–there’s a better to be found.

I have a lot of thinking to do yet, but I am energized by the possibility here, not the least of which is focusing on my commitment as a source for their commitment. I want my commitment to be the spring at the headwaters of our learning lake next year. (Okay, that’s a little corny, I suppose). But, I believe there’s better, and if corny’s the way, then corny will I be.

Happy Wednesday, all. I will elaborate tomorrow.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

I am trying to maintain momentum as we head into June, but I feel like this has been the entire year–just trying to find and ride some momentum. From “distance” to “hybrid” to full in-person (and all the other little transitions and distractions), it is been hard to find and hold some momentum–and motivation. And now, here in June, I find my grip on things to be slipping. I am ready to be done. The kids are ready to be done. And I know I should hide my lack right now, and I will–mostly, but it’s getting harder with each passing day. And I know I am not alone. We are, all of us, struggling to maintain right now. And for a great many of us–I imagine–we are just trying to maintain our sanity as we limp through the rest of the year, our energy ebbing and flowing.

Fortunately–unexpectedly–mine just found a flow. Just as I am writing this, one of my students is up right now (probably all night, knowing her) submitting work. I have gotten several notification dings all morning, and with each ding, I remember that we, that I, will prevail. We always do, and the kids will help us get there. Thank goodness for kids.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Thought maybe I’d find my muse this morning, but she ain’t having it, so I am going to wish you all a happy–hopefully restful–three-day weekend. It will be June the next time I meet you here. The end is near.

Happy Friday. Have a great weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

I have never been a great finisher. Conversely, I believe I have always been a great starter. I jump at the gun, and I run, and I run, and I run. But I am often too soon done. And I struggle to the finish.

Part of it is that I get bored with what is, and I get eager for what’s ahead, what’s to come. I have ideas and ambitions for the next year, and I feel like I get stuck in a holding pattern with the current year, especially near the end. And that is where I am right now. It almost feels like I am limping through December to get to that resolute day where we get to try again.

We get to try again. We get to make and do better. And while this seems perhaps a right and noble thing (and it is), it also suggests a struggle to live in the now, to be fully present. And I struggle with that. I always have. Maybe that’s the “better” burden. Maybe when one is always chasing better around the bend, he will sacrifice the present. And so, aware, he tries to better this, too. And he’s off, running at the gun, trying to be better at better to get better. Alas, the beauty and the burden of better.

So, then, do we not chase our better? I hope not. I don’t know how to do it any differently. And more, even though I know the pitfalls on the path ahead, I will choose and chase better. It’s the race I run.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Earlier this year, during “distance,” I started something I called “Why, Sy?” With each day’s Learning Experience, I would attach a screen cast to answer the question, “Why are we doing this?” I came to call it “Why, Sy?” Some days the answer was readily found and easily communicated, but other days, I struggled a bit to come up with at least what felt like a legit reason for why we were doing the day’s work. And then, for some reason, when we shifted to “hybrid” in February, it got away from me, and I never got back to it. But next fall, I will return to why.

In fact, I will return to it and publish it each day on YouTube, not only for my kids but also for the world of education out there. It will be part of my new 180 commitment to my next better. I want to be a model for the struggle of “why” on a daily basis. But from my struggle, I expect to learn and grow as I become more practiced and intentional about finding my why in all that we do. It will not be rehearsed–well, at least not formally. I expect it will be rehearsed in my reflections about my daily dives into doing, reflecting, and doing better. I want to capture it in a 180 days of “why.” All of it: the good, the bad, and even the ugly as I chase better around the bend.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

My count is off. It’s actually day 161, but our snow day and “power” day, messed my count up because I had already posted before school was officially called those days, so, like last year, there will end up being 182 days in the Project 180 year.

And so, what are we doing for the final 19 days of the year? Two big items: Passion Paper and Night. I hope these two will keep us engaged and motivated in what will likely end up feeling like the longest few weeks of our already longest ever year. And though it has been a long year, I am just going to enjoy the short time I have left with my little humans.

Anyway, that’s all I have on this final Monday morning in May. Have a great day, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. My 10 minutes of screen staring is up, and nothing’s presented itself today. Seems I am stuck between having too little to say or too much to say. The little seems unworthy of your time, and the much starts me down a path for which I haven’t the time or the energy. So, in light of that, I am simply going to say good morning and accept what is–or isn’t.

Happy Thursday.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

As we near out final act, I want my kids to understand their roles, so when take our final bow, they feel like they are the stars of our show. And while I may not say this explicitly every day, I try to create a community, a culture where it’s understood implicitly. It is our show. It has to be. Learning is a shared responsibility in a community. And yesterday, I wanted to call attention to that as we continued to rehearse our roles in our show.

I stopped seeing our roles in black and white a long time ago. I grew wary and weary of the stock roles of teacher and student and the transactional script we were forced to follow. So, I began to ad lib and improvise, trusting my innovative instincts to find the between where we become connected in the blend, where we discover our messy middle–that place where humans live and live and learn. Our show.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.