by Erin
Klug
The other day I had a moment of satisfaction when the laundry was finished. It had taken my family an entire week to wash, dry, fold, and put away clothes in dressers. Yet just as the laundry was supposedly finished, I was reminded of more dirty clothes, bulging from the hamper, awaiting the washing machine.
Truly, I’ll never be done with laundry—like so many things in teaching.
We often hear “I’m done” from our students. In our response, we try to get them to probe deeper, check their work, add detail. We extend the assignment to help them understand that an assignment may not be done, even though the work is completed.
It’s good advice for us educators, too. It’s easy to become complacent. We land on the “best” way to do something and forget to keep reflecting and adjusting as needed. After all, students are always changing and growing, and routines can be abandoned, learning forgotten. So we roll up our sleeves and dig in to keep them moving forward.
Come spring, teachers and students stretch for the finish line. It’s a time to complete, to recognize achievements, reflect, and celebrate. But we know that teaching and learning (and laundry!) will continue.
As you look back over your year, use your insights to plan for the fall. In the Developmental Designs approach, we call this the Loop—an endless cycle of reflecting and planning. In my teaching experience, I have found that planning for the upcoming year can be very rich when the current year is fresh in my mind. My thinking is looser and more agile when I am not in the grip of that beginning-of-the year pressure to get everything ready.
A veteran teacher once told me that this phenomenon of constant tweaking and changing is what either keeps a person in teaching or drives her out.
"Perhaps this challenge is what I love most about teaching: keep searching. Find something that you haven't tried, and try it. If it works, keep using it, but be careful, and be ready to make adjustments," another teacher shared.
For me, this dynamic nature is what keeps me in the field of education. What about you?
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Read more about a Developmental Designs practitioner who thrives on continual change and growth.
About Erin Klug
I taught intermediate and middle grades in Minneapolis for more than a decade before taking a position as Professional Development Specialist and Consultant for The Origins Program. I currently develop workshop programming, contribute to Origins publications, and provide direct service to area schools through consulting. I hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and a Master of Education from the University of Minnesota. Contact me at Origins@OriginsOnline.org.
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