My closest and dearest friend is in Alcoholics Anonymous, and the manner in which he applies the program to his life, aligns with my philosophy of education.
Whenever I see him after a bad day in the classroom, or when I’m reeling from the demands of the job, he tells me to sit with him in lotus and to say the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
The conundrum in this practice, for me at least, is the wisdom aspect – sometimes my self-will gets in the way and blocks me from knowing what is best for me in certain situations.
As a teacher, I want control … so sometimes I am self-will run riot.
I want control of outcomes and I want control of results.
I am not alone. Teachers want to be in charge of their instruction, the outcomes, the direction, the management, etc.
But no matter how good we are as practitioners, sometimes things fall apart. Heck … sometimes things go drastically wrong.
Teaching is one of those professions where sometimes we just feel stuck; and as a result, we spin on the futile wheel of stress and frustration and ride it out alone.
Over the course of many years, I’ve worked with a lot of teachers who have found themselves in such a place.
One of the things I am most proud of as an educator is this – the extent to which I have been able to illumine the proverbial lightbulb for teachers who are at the brink of falling apart and calling it quits.
There is a wisdom to know the difference. There is courage in taking action to change the course of your classroom instruction and to change how learning looks. Acceptance of one’s limitations is brave and a turning point for change.
As we come to closing the final chapter on this academic year, let’s start thinking about how to do it better next year.
For me, I will be working with my publisher this summer to get my alternative grading methods textbook published before the fall term. I want to be of service to make the classroom a place of joyful learning for my colleagues in arms.
All summer long, I will be offering my Masterclass and 1:1 course. In addition, I will be giving overview seminars of my self-paced course. And of course, I’ll be championing my alternative grading methods and templates.
I still have a few seats available for my June 13th Masterclass that will run each Sunday evening for five weeks (excluding July 4th).
Here’s to courage, change, and wisdom!
Wishing you the best on your road to happy teaching and happy writing!
Kristian
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