3 Ways to Finish the School Year Strong

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and host of the teaching champions podcast, in the final sprint to the end of the school years, and some of you, you're extremely close to the end date, and others like myself, we have about 30 days left. But Time goes fast. That final bell will ring. We'll turn off the lights. And we'll shut the door to our classroom one last time until fall. And there's obviously excitement on all fronts those very last few days. But what about leading up to it? Where's that school culture at? What's the relationship that you have with your students? What's the relationship that you have with your colleagues, as we finish up the school year, what's the relationship and your feelings about the teaching profession, as we finish the school year, because how we finish these final days, it matters. It matters how we finish with our colleagues. It matters how we finish with our students, and matters how we finish with ourselves. But there's things that we can do to finish the school year strong in here are just a few of them. And the first is recognize the greatness around you. And it's important that we understand that we're hardwired to see the negative, it was a survival mechanism for our ancestors, and it's part of our DNA. So those things that bother us, they're always going to jump out at us, there's always going to be something whether it's big or small, that's going to be there. And if we're not careful, that's all we're gonna see. And then it becomes really easy for us to start venting, and start fixating on all those negative things. But there's also so many great things to see. There's moments, when you see students interacting in positive ways. When you see acts of kindness, there's moments where you if you step back, you can see so much growth within your students. And we have to make a conscious effort to see these moments. For the rest of the school year, challenge yourself that the start of the day, to see five good things that happen. And there's so many. And then at the end of the day, when you're home, you're decompressing. Take a moment and think about those five things. Another way that we can finish the school year strong, is really pay attention to the words that we speak. Sometimes I listen, and I hear the words other speak, whether it's in school or out in public. And we often don't realize the power of our words. I don't think we realize sometimes about how we come across to people. In the in my class, we have so many conversations that are centered around the fact that how we say things matters. And that's true for the young ones. But it's also true for adults as well. And it's important for us to think about how do we want to come across to those in our space these last few days. Because it's important we remember as well, we only speak so many words in a day. And I can use my words to elevate, I can use my words, to point out the great things that others are doing to point out to others shine that they have. And you can let your students know, with your words, the things that are unique to them that you appreciate. You can point out to them, their strengths, how far they've come, you can help them see how hard they've worked in the grid that they have. And the same goes for our colleagues, you know, recognize the great things that they do. Because inside every school we're surrounded by people who are doing great things who have big hearts who are doing their best. And in my own building. There are teachers who have different clubs. There's teachers there are spearheading different initiatives. And they don't necessarily pertain to me. But it doesn't hurt that if I'm standing next to them at the photocopier to let them know, I see what they're doing. It doesn't hurt school culture. If I open up my email, if I take 30 seconds to say, Hey, I appreciate what you're doing in our school, and it makes a difference. Little things like that is what school cultures build. So as you're taking that time, to notice all those great things that are happening all around, you make it a point to share them with others, you want to finish that school year strong in an unhealthy mental space, what can be better than noticing the good things that are happening all around, and then taking it a step further, and sharing those with others. And one of my favorite quotes comes from Oprah. And she says, You're responsible for the energy that you create for yourself. And you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others. And one last thing that I think that we should talk about to finish the school year strong, is how we view success from the school year. And I know it's the second grade level that I escaped the big state exams, but we have our own assessments that we use to see where the students are at. And every year, before we take them, I get a little bit anxious about these, because like you, I care, and I want my students to do well. But it's important to remember, the students showed up at the beginning of the school year. And they were all at different levels. And they're going to finish the school year, and then they're going to be all at different levels. And we shouldn't just fixate on that final score, then we need to take that time. And we need to see the growth that all of our students have had, how far they've come. And that can get forgotten sometimes. And then it's not just about that academic growth, there's social growth, there's emotional growth that take place throughout the school year as well. And we should recognize that we should acknowledge it, we should celebrate it. So take that time on an individual level. And there's a whole classroom community and celebrate with each other, what our students have achieved. And that's it's just another way of finishing the year strong. Because imagine walking into a class. And you hear that acknowledgement of growth that has taken place. Imagine seeing the students in the teacher celebrating each other. Because what type of environment is being created as our students wrap up the school year. Now, these are just three simple ways to finish the school year strong. They're little things, but little things are a big thing. And yeah, there's excitement with summer vacation. But there's people as we finish this year, that are tired, that are frustrated, who might not be in the best state of mind in regards to teaching. And we can take steps to make our days better. We can take steps to create a great end of the year for ourselves, and for our students and for our colleagues. So these last few days, notice at least five things that made you smile in every conversation that you have. Be conscious of the energy that you bring, be conscious of the words that you speak, make it a point to lift up others in conversation, to build up those around you. And take that time to celebrate. Celebrate the growth, celebrate the individual celebrate the moments. Now if you think someone will benefit from this message, please share. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching, champions community. We support we encourage we lift each other up. And always remember, it doesn't matter whether you're from rural America, to urban America to Canada, this made the bow rain. We're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better to get keep being amazing, my friends, and as you go out into the week, May stem into strength. May you step into your shot, and let's build our champions. Have a great week, everybody You