New (School) Year's Resolutions

In many ways the start of the school year feels like a fresher start than January 1st, so I often take a few minutes to jot down some goals for my upcoming school year (I go back tomorrow and the students Thursday). Last year my goals were to grade 10 essays a day (I sort of did this... last year I was more on top of my grading game than ever, so I'll call it a win), diligently use a grading calendar (this is a life saver- I assign myself assignments to grade each day, just to manage the piles), apply to be an IB scorer (I did this; I don't know if I will end up grading them, because of some curriculum changes, but I did do it), have my students journal four days a week (I have decided that's not the best use of our time), revamp my outside reading assignments (yup), and stop being concerned with what others think, since my kids do well (I ended up having bigger fish to fry, so this definitely wasn't relevant). 

This year there are some things I want to maintain and do differently:

1. Get more sleep- this is challenging, but my sleep dictates my mood and productivity, which then impacts how I teach. I will never get 8 hours a night, and usually not even 7, but I would like to see some increase on the Fitbit stats showing I'm catching more shut eye. A big way to do this is to simply give myself a bedtime, take melatonin, and NOT LOOK AT MY MOTHER EFFING PHONE AT NIGHT.

2. Keep using my grading calendar- Such a lifesaver. It's flexible, holds me accountable, and falls in line with my need check things off.

3. Familiarize myself with the curriculum changes for the 2020-2021 year- IB is making some changes, so I need to hopefully go to training. If not, I need to figure out what I'll need to change for my next group.

4. Be better about positive communication- For the most part, I don't have behavioral issues with my students, so sometimes I feel like I don't interact with my students' families much. When I taught elementary before I'd send home little notecards with positive comments a few times a month and the kids loved it. I have reason to believe teenagers would like the benefits happy notes would have for them at home.

5. Stop playing the "I'm more tired/busier/more stressed/more buried than you" game- It's never done maliciously, but teachers are really, really bad about this, especially women. 

I'll stop there! I will miss summer DEARLY, but there is something to be said for routine and being forced to do something with my hair everyday.