Yesterday, I posted a short personal narrative about letting go of some personal preferences and accepting our circumstances. What have you let go of as we teach, lead, and live remotely?
In addition to (not at first) graciously accepting my home haircut from my wife, I have also let go of mandatory staff meetings. Now I am offering optional Zoom chats once a week for faculty to check in and share how things are going. Overall, good participation. Will this continue when we come back together? It's an interesting idea...
I like this idea! You have built a community of educators that trust you and your responsiveness to their needs. They WANT to be a part of your chats. Kudos!
I have been doing presentations for teachers for most of my 48 year career – always in person. Several weeks ago I was asked to do digital presentations for three weeks of cancelled sessions. I said yes right away but immediately went into panic mode since my heart is looking into the faces of teachers sitting in front of me and being able to walk around the room to connect to each of them. Having never done digital sessions, I had a tremendous fear of the unknown and doing something so foreign to me. I spent the past three weeks redoing my session handouts and all of my slides for this unfamiliar way of presenting, knowing that all of the many teachers I admire so much were doing the same. I must admit that I wasn't certain that I could possibly make this leap and do it successfully. In short, I was terrified. But all the while I let go of that internal battle and fought through it for two reasons: 1) my selfish desire to be with teachers I adore doing what I love. 2) My belief that out of discomfort great things can happen. I am about to begin day four of these three weeks and something odd happened on my first day on Monday. As I sat before the computer before doing my opening keynote, I was shaking... but the moment I began talking and looking in the eyes of teachers from my computer screen, all doubt disappeared and the only thing left was love for this profession and love for being with teachers after spending every day alone in the confines of my home for all these weeks. As I said, great things can happen when our WHY is driving the path forward. Letting go of my own insecurities for this new venue and letting love push me forward was an unexpected blessing!
I love that you pushed on through the insecurities. This is resilience! Think of how much stronger we all are! I was going to say, how much stronger we'll be when this is over- but NO, we are so much stronger each and every day. Through the challenges, we learn. And oh my, how we are learning now! You're an amazing mentor, Mary. Thank you for your inspiration to "be fearlessly authentic"- a quote from my Dove dark chocolate wrapper that is now pinned in my home office!
I am not surprised you were successful with this change in how you deliver your message Mary. Even though you weren't sure how it would go, your love and passion for what you do led you through and shines like a bright beacon of hope for the rest of us! Staying grounded with our "WHY" is essential yet easy to forget in the chaos of our rapidly changing state of affairs during this pandemic. A good reminder for us all.
I have pages and pages of new ideas for things in education moving forward! I keep telling people, “Forget thinking outside the box. There is NO BOX.” All ideas welcomed! My biggest surprise is my acceptance to having no control. It took me many longgggg weeks to get here, and maybe I’m not even really there yet, but I think I’ve accepted it and am moving on. Other less personal things I am letting go of are the procedural task lists of telling people step by step how to do the paperwork. It no longer matters (as much). I also have tried to reduce my email output, because I am so completely overwhelmed by the insane amount coming to my inbox non-stop! One thing I’ve added: weekly zoom group with 5 other spec ed directors in my area. It has helped me let go of feeling like I have to control it all, and I have to do it all and know it all. With so much changing by the minute, these weekly chats help us all prioritize for what we need to keep on the forefront of our work for the week. We have cried together, prayed together, laughed together, yelled about it all together, etc. and while getting A LOT done. It is truly saving my sanity! So find 3-5 colleague friends and ask to meet weekly over zoom (BYOB), and none of you will regret that virtual face to face contact!
Yes, there is NO BOX. When that dangerous little three letter word begins to creep into our conversations (BUT) then we are doomed before we begin. Control is a hard thing to let go of isn't it, especially at a time when we feel a complete loss of control. Good for you Jamie!
I think this is a brilliant idea. I've been communicating with my teaching "marigolds" via text messages, but I miss their faces and laughter. A joint zoom would be good for everyone's soul.
On Tuesday I went in to the school to pack up my classroom so that the janitorial staff could move in and do their "summer" cleaning. I've been struggling with "letting go" of the fact that this group of first graders will not be returning to my classroom since last Thursday when the governor declared schools would remain closed. Packing up the room was one baby step in my process of letting go of that which I cannot change. As I went through the basket of student writing that my students had planned on sharing with the class, I decided it was time to send the writing home for the children to share with their families instead of their classmates. I'm continuing to work on letting go of what could have been, so that I can shift my focus to new possibilities and learning experiences.
I don't know if we can fully "let go" of the relationships or community we have developed. Ryanne, nor should we. Acceptance is helpful, but there's definitely loss too. I hope the shift to what's possible has given you some semblance of what you all had.
In addition to (not at first) graciously accepting my home haircut from my wife, I have also let go of mandatory staff meetings. Now I am offering optional Zoom chats once a week for faculty to check in and share how things are going. Overall, good participation. Will this continue when we come back together? It's an interesting idea...
I love this Matt!
I like this idea! You have built a community of educators that trust you and your responsiveness to their needs. They WANT to be a part of your chats. Kudos!
I have been doing presentations for teachers for most of my 48 year career – always in person. Several weeks ago I was asked to do digital presentations for three weeks of cancelled sessions. I said yes right away but immediately went into panic mode since my heart is looking into the faces of teachers sitting in front of me and being able to walk around the room to connect to each of them. Having never done digital sessions, I had a tremendous fear of the unknown and doing something so foreign to me. I spent the past three weeks redoing my session handouts and all of my slides for this unfamiliar way of presenting, knowing that all of the many teachers I admire so much were doing the same. I must admit that I wasn't certain that I could possibly make this leap and do it successfully. In short, I was terrified. But all the while I let go of that internal battle and fought through it for two reasons: 1) my selfish desire to be with teachers I adore doing what I love. 2) My belief that out of discomfort great things can happen. I am about to begin day four of these three weeks and something odd happened on my first day on Monday. As I sat before the computer before doing my opening keynote, I was shaking... but the moment I began talking and looking in the eyes of teachers from my computer screen, all doubt disappeared and the only thing left was love for this profession and love for being with teachers after spending every day alone in the confines of my home for all these weeks. As I said, great things can happen when our WHY is driving the path forward. Letting go of my own insecurities for this new venue and letting love push me forward was an unexpected blessing!
Letting go of what you've come to know allowed you to adapt to a new way of connecting with your audience. Well done, Mary!
I love that you pushed on through the insecurities. This is resilience! Think of how much stronger we all are! I was going to say, how much stronger we'll be when this is over- but NO, we are so much stronger each and every day. Through the challenges, we learn. And oh my, how we are learning now! You're an amazing mentor, Mary. Thank you for your inspiration to "be fearlessly authentic"- a quote from my Dove dark chocolate wrapper that is now pinned in my home office!
Thank you for those beautiful words Jamie (and LOVE the quote!)
I am not surprised you were successful with this change in how you deliver your message Mary. Even though you weren't sure how it would go, your love and passion for what you do led you through and shines like a bright beacon of hope for the rest of us! Staying grounded with our "WHY" is essential yet easy to forget in the chaos of our rapidly changing state of affairs during this pandemic. A good reminder for us all.
I have pages and pages of new ideas for things in education moving forward! I keep telling people, “Forget thinking outside the box. There is NO BOX.” All ideas welcomed! My biggest surprise is my acceptance to having no control. It took me many longgggg weeks to get here, and maybe I’m not even really there yet, but I think I’ve accepted it and am moving on. Other less personal things I am letting go of are the procedural task lists of telling people step by step how to do the paperwork. It no longer matters (as much). I also have tried to reduce my email output, because I am so completely overwhelmed by the insane amount coming to my inbox non-stop! One thing I’ve added: weekly zoom group with 5 other spec ed directors in my area. It has helped me let go of feeling like I have to control it all, and I have to do it all and know it all. With so much changing by the minute, these weekly chats help us all prioritize for what we need to keep on the forefront of our work for the week. We have cried together, prayed together, laughed together, yelled about it all together, etc. and while getting A LOT done. It is truly saving my sanity! So find 3-5 colleague friends and ask to meet weekly over zoom (BYOB), and none of you will regret that virtual face to face contact!
Being open to possibilities and allowing others to lead - I appreciate your perspective, Jamie.
Yes, there is NO BOX. When that dangerous little three letter word begins to creep into our conversations (BUT) then we are doomed before we begin. Control is a hard thing to let go of isn't it, especially at a time when we feel a complete loss of control. Good for you Jamie!
I think this is a brilliant idea. I've been communicating with my teaching "marigolds" via text messages, but I miss their faces and laughter. A joint zoom would be good for everyone's soul.
On Tuesday I went in to the school to pack up my classroom so that the janitorial staff could move in and do their "summer" cleaning. I've been struggling with "letting go" of the fact that this group of first graders will not be returning to my classroom since last Thursday when the governor declared schools would remain closed. Packing up the room was one baby step in my process of letting go of that which I cannot change. As I went through the basket of student writing that my students had planned on sharing with the class, I decided it was time to send the writing home for the children to share with their families instead of their classmates. I'm continuing to work on letting go of what could have been, so that I can shift my focus to new possibilities and learning experiences.
I don't know if we can fully "let go" of the relationships or community we have developed. Ryanne, nor should we. Acceptance is helpful, but there's definitely loss too. I hope the shift to what's possible has given you some semblance of what you all had.