Finish well. Today, Linda Kardamis shares common mistakes to avoid and positive things to do that will help you have a successful finish to your school year.
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Enhanced Transcript |
How to Finish The School Year Strong
Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e309
Date: May 10, 2018
Vicki: One of the most popular shows of last year was Linda Kardamis from Teach 4 the Heart (http://teach4theheart.com/). Weโll link to that show because she had so many great ideas there.
Now, Linda,weโre going to talk about how to finish the school year strong. How can we finish strong? So many people get so tired and they just want to put their feet up on their desk!
Linda: Yes, and thatโs actually my first tip.
Donโt coast!
As much as you want to coast, donโt coast. Instead, be intentional with your time and choose. Make a mental decision, โIโm going to make these last days count.โ It all starts there.
Vicki: Oh, it does.
But how do we decide what to do? We can either say, โOh, there are all these things I havenโt taught,โ or โYou know what? Iโm just done.โ
Linda: (laughs)
I think itโs important to keep first things first because there are always a million things to do, so you really have to prioritize. Ask yourself, โWhat really needs to get done?โ โWhat should I let go, and you know, wait until next week or next month or the summer?โ
Vicki: That is so hard to do.
Linda: (laughs)
Vicki: Whatโs another tip for us?
Linda: I think at the end of the year, youโve spent time developing all these relationships with your students. Youโre about to be done with them, but this last month or two is your opportunity to draw on those relationships that youโve built. Youโre closest to them that youโve been all year, and so use that.
Draw on the relationships that you have built all year
This is your chance to inspire them, to guide them, to counsel them, and to speak truth into their lives.
So be looking for those opportunities and take advantage of them.
Vicki: Oh, and kids remember what we do first and what we do last. I was sitting at a mamaโs desk today talking about some great things that her son can do. She just teared up and said, โSchool is about getting grades, but sometimes we forget to talk about, โYou do this well, but I canโt put it on the report card. But this is you, huh.โโ
Linda: Yes, itโs a great way to encourage them as theyโre heading into their summer and finishing up the year. For sure.
Vicki: Whatโs next?
Linda: Next I would say, this just goes to really practical tip.
As you are looking at your material you are hoping to cover between now and the end of the year, and saying โOh my goodness, I donโt have enough time to do all of this,โ this is a good time to stop and take inventory of that and be strategic.
Take inventory of whatโs left to cover and be strategic
The last thing you want to do is keep plodding along and miss whatever was last in your curriculum math, or your book, or whatever you have.
This is a good time to sit down and be intentional and ask yourself, โWhat is most important?โ and make sure you get that in, even if itโs not the next thing sequentially.
Vicki: OK, Iโm going to be honest. In one of my classes, Iโm actually tracking to finish a little early. What do we do if somebody is actually a little ahead?
Linda: This is actually my next tip.
I ran into this problem, because Iโm a leader. I was always either right there, sometimes I finish early.
My word of caution is donโt finish too early or if you do, have a really good project based learning activity or something that youโre doing at the end.
Donโt finish too early — or have a great end project if you do
If youโve finished too early — I did this my first year — I was like โWeโre done a week early! Weโre just going to do fun review activities!โ
But as soon as the students saw that we were done, they checked out. All of my review activities were a disaster.
Maybe add a project at the end or do something just stay on your schedule so youโre not done-done too early.
Vicki: I hate to say it, but I actually love it when students come in by choice to work on stuff on the last day of school – theyโre like, โI want to put an extra touch on that movie!โ โOh I really want to add this or that!โ
I think we just have to capture every moment, donโt we?
Linda: Yes, and thatโs such a great idea.
Like I said, if youโre having a project like that, that they are really passionate about,that theyโre finishing up, and trying to put the last finishing touches on, I think thatโs a great way to end the year for sure.
Vicki: Whatโs next?
Linda: I think, as youโre leaving the year, itโs really good to communicate with your parents, especially the ones of the kids that struggled.
Communicate with ALL parents, especially the ones of kids who struggled
The temptation is to just be like โDrop your report card, and just get out of there,โ but itโs really good to go back and get one final touchpoint with those parents. I like to recommend things if they can do over the summer, even if I know that the voice in the back of my head is going, โThey arenโt going to care.โ
You donโt know that. Just take a few minutes. t can be the same email that you copy and paste and then adjust, but send out something to those parents, with some recommendations for the summer, things they can do, and maybe a last word of encouragement for their students.
Vicki: That is so important, because we really are partners with helping the kids, in some ways thatโs like passing the baton to the parents over the summer, isnโt it?
Linda: Yes, absolutely. Sure.
Vicki: Okay, what else?
Linda: My next tip is to try to leave things as organized as possible. Now, I did say โtry,โ because I know itโs pretty crazy, but just keep in mind the more organized you leave things now, the easier it will be if you are staying at the same place when you come in next fall.
Try to leave things as organized as possible for yourself for the fall
Even if you arenโt teaching in the same place, though, taking a few minutes to jot down some notes for yourself — like this lesson worked, or this lesson didnโt, or I want to try this again.
Even little things like that can be helpful. And like I said, maybe even tackling those desk drawers, the closet. If you have any time to do any of that, it will make things way easier for you come fall.
Vicki: I love that. I actually right now have started my โSimplify Journal.โ Every single day I try to simplify my room in one or two ways and it just makes me feel free!
Linda: Oh, thatโs great!
Vicki: Ok, yeah! Whatโs our last one?
Simply commit to enjoying the last few days
Linda: The last one is just simply decide to enjoy these last few days. This is really simple, but it can make such a difference. Weโre so often tempted to just count down the days, and thereโs nothing wrong with the countdown, but itโs mental. Are we really on mental countdown โI just have to do this many more days!โ
We can do that, or we can choose to say, โThese are the last few days I have with this group of students. Iโm going to try the best I can just to enjoy them, be in the moment, and to take advantage of opportunities that I do. I think that mental decision really does impact everything else.
Vicki: Why I left the business world, and what teaching pays me that I donโt get from anything else is — itโs so much fun!
I feel just like Iโm not laughing every day with the kids and if weโre not finding something funny, if weโre not working hard at work worth doing, then why are we there?
Nobody wants be bored! They donโt want to be bored, and I donโt want to be bored! We just arenโt phoning it in, we just want to finish and finish well, you know?
Linda: Absolutely, for sure.
Vicki: So, Linda, as we finish up, could you give teachers a 30-second pep talk of encouragement for finishing well and what it means to them in their professional career to be known as a finisher?
Are you a quitter, or are you a finisher?
Linda: You yourself will know how you finish. Just looking back when youโre sitting, relaxing by the pool, or just taking a nap, you will know if you phoned it in or if you really finished strong.
And your students will know too. How will they remember you? Will they remember you as โThank goodness weโre done with that?โ Or will they know that you really put in the effort and that you care for them? Because, really, itโs for them.
Vicki: Teachers, I canโt stress this enough.
I do feel that sometimes, I think we are raising a generation of quitters. โIf I donโt get to play enough in baseball, Iโm going to quit.โ Or, โI donโt get to run in that even, or I canโt place in that event, so Iโll quit.โ
And the thing is, we teach with our lives — whether weโre finishers or whether weโre quitters.
My philosophy is, something I do when Iโm running, when my knees arenโt acting up, I always sprint at the end.
Linda: Me too!
Vicki: Yeah! I read that thatโs the only way you build more muscle and build more strength is to sprint at the end.
I think that at the end, I know that itโs counterintuitive, but when you sprint at the end, you earn the respect of your colleagues, you earn the respect of your kids, and you can look at yourself in the mirror, and kind of blow on your knuckles, and go, โYou know what? Iโve got this. And Iโm doing it right, you know?โ
Linda: Absolutely.
Vicki: Okay, teachers, so letโs do this. Letโs finish well!
Linda: Finish strong!
Contact us about the show: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com
Bio as submitted
Linda Kardamis provides practical advice and Biblical encouragement for Christian teachers on her website Teach 4 the Heart (http://teach4theheart.com/). She is also the author of Create Your Dream Classroom (http://teach4theheart.com/dreamclassroom) and the creator of Classroom Management 101 (http://teach4theheart.com/cm101) and Teach Uplifted (http://teachuplifted.com).
Blog:http://teach4theheart.com/
Twitter: @LindaKardamis
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a โsponsored podcast episode.โ The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissionโs 16 CFR, Part 255: โGuides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.โ This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show. |
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2 comments
“Sprint at the end.” What a great analogy. I agree that those who make the most of the last days of school earn the respect of the teachers around them. Even better, it earns the respect of the kids. Great episode.
Thank you, Frank! I always appreciate your thoughts.