8 Weeks of Summer: Reflecting on some Journeys

This post is week 7 of 8 in the 8 Weeks of Summer Blog Challenge for educators. The prompt for this week is to check in on where we our in our summer learning journeys and in our overall professional journeys.


As far as summer learning goes, I would say I’m on track for where I wanted to be. I mentioned in a previous post that I have chosen to focus mostly on personal goals for this summer, at least until August, and I have done just that. I’ve focused a lot on exercise, and I’ve done a lot of personal reading. I set a goal to read 25 books this year on Goodreads, and I’m at 21 out of 25 already. I haven’t read this much in years, and it’s awesome. After a summer of focusing on personal growth, I’m feeling great physically and mentally. 

Now that it’s August, I’m ready to think about professional learning.

That really started last week when I helped facilitate a C3WP advanced institute for three days. I led teachers through four mini-units that I will be using in my own 10th grade ELA class this year, so I was able to reflect on how those went last year and revamp them for my colleagues. Facilitating great professional development  and presenting to fellow educators is always a joy for me, and this one was no different. The teachers I worked with were so engaged and thoughtful and reflective. Their questions pushed me to think more deeply about my practice, which I think is what I love the most about working with other teachers. 

I also learned from them, as I always do even when I’m the facilitator. One thing that I will use every day is a simple “hack” for putting a timer on a Google Slide. Usually, I open up a new tab and start up a countdown timer when my students are working on something to let them know how long they have. Now I know that I can insert one into a Google Slide by going to Insert–>Video on the Google Slide, then searching “___ minute timer” on YouTube. I had never thought to look for that, but apparently many people create and post “timer” videos. 

This week, I’m reading Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools by Amande E. Lewis and John B. Diamond. I’m participating in a book group to discuss it on Wednesday. I have a lot of reading left to do by then, but a lot of what I’m reading is already resonating with me and my experiences working in 4 different schools with very different populations-2 urban high schools, one suburban alternative high school, and one traditional suburban high school. I can’t wait to discuss this all with some of my colleagues.

In terms of my overall professional journey, I am really starting to feel like a middle-career educator. This year will be my 10th year of teaching, and when I look back on my early days, I know that I have come a long way. I am a much better, more effective teacher than I was back then. I am so much better at building relationships and creating strong classroom communities, and my teaching practices are more grounded in my principles and values than they were back then. But I still feel like I have a lot left to learn, too. I can’t wait to see where the next ten years take me.

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