New. New year. New outlook. New goals. New self. And of course, for me, a search for a new better. The double-edged instrument I wield. The burden I bear. Too quick to sharpen the edge. Too soon to blunt it by use. It, too, I turn 180 degrees at a time. Never sharp. Never dull. Change the only constant.

And this is how I find myself on the first day of school in the new year–an edge not sharp. Sure, I have come far in my journey to turn education upside down in my own little corner, but I find myself wanting, searching for that which still eludes. And perhaps that in itself is the problem. Maybe it’s simply that I do not know what it is–what it exactly is–that I seek. For some time now it has been about grades and the taint they leave on learning. And while I still seek answers in this realm, I grow ever restive with this reality, convinced that it’s bigger, convinced that it’s more.

Oh, that it is not to say that I won’t continue to experiment with new and better ways to measure and report learning, for it is central to addressing the systemic problems in education. It has to change. But, it is to say, that I will set forth from here with eyes fixed on new horizons, horizons that I cannot fully imagine, but horizons that I believe are there, horizons that will make better and more meaningful the educational experiences I share with my young charges. And that, I believe, requires my taking even greater risks, an admission that I found both exhilarating and terrifying. Think of where I can take my kids! But what if I take them too far? What if I take them nowhere? What if we get lost? The worries of a wanderer. But, still…. The possibility. It pulls. It calls. So I will follow; I will answer–though I have no idea where I am going. Never stopped me before. No reason why it should now. Time for a new better.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…reconnect through Community Circle. I promised the first Friday of each month, but I am going to trade days. Today seems a more appropriate time for reconnecting.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy New Year, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.