“Inner stillness is the key to outer strength.”- Jared Brock
Everyone has an opinion when it comes to educating children.
More structure! Follow the child’s lead!
Encourage creativity! Foster social emotional well-being!
Focus on math, we need to catch up in America! Science and technology!
Cultivate readers!
With all of these forces, it can feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions at once as an educator. If you are the leader of a classroom, each year can feel like a sprint and a marathon- get through the curriculum. Manage the SEL for kids. Support the parents, stay up on trends, make it fun…
These forces can feel like they are opposing too-develop independence but also make sure kids are accountable. Be creative but fall in line with behavioral expectations. Educate the whole child but develop specific, specialized traits.
When you are presented with this canvas of requirements and options, feeling overwhelmed is an understatement.
Educational trends will shift, and it is your job as an educator to calm the waters. Look in the mirror, go inside and remember to work on yourself.
What can you do, today, to help the children with whom you work?
What can you do today, to balance the competing forces?
Calm the waters. Be still. Pay attention to what is happening and around you and make the next best choice. You will feel better and the students will be better off because of it.
