AP/Dean Corner

AP/Dean's Corner

From Rachel and Anel:

A few weeks ago, I noticed something on a teacher’s whiteboard. It said, “Three things that went well today…” I paused to ask what that was and she explained that Anel had advised her to wrap up her day with a reflection on the successes of the day. She said it was a great tool to end the day on a positive note, not only for her, but also for her students.

As teachers, we so often focus on the parts of the day that didn’t go well--- the standard students didn’t master, the student who had a difficult time during math, the wigglies on the carpet. But we rarely make time to actually reflect on what went well. The fact that the chattiness of a class has decreased by 50% (marking that students are focused 50% more of the day), the excitement students had during a lesson, or the light bulb moment for one of our students.

Taking the time daily to focus on the positives reframes our thinking about our days. While it doesn’t solve all of our challenges, having a mindset that reflects on successes (as well as challenges) helps make the job of educating young people more sustainable because it focuses us on what we are doing well. Feeling like we are effective in some ways helps us get out of the day to day and see the big picture. Ending the day on a positive note is a great way to bring joy back into your classroom!

Want some ideas on how to reflect on positives? Check out this Edutopia article:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/unleashing-power-positivity-your-school-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers

Reminders:

• Math Fluency #3 is due in Illuminate on October 26
• The window for Star Ren #2 (grades 3- 5) is November 1- 9.
• The window for the Math Interim is October 29- November 9.
• Grade 3- 5 teachers need to set a time to norm and score Math Interims with Rachel BEFORE November 16 (deadline to upload to Illuminate)
• SST Referrals should start coming in to both Anel and Rachel in the next two weeks.