My Word of 2022-2023 - #MTBoSBlaugust Day 1

 

It's August 1.... I don't know how this year has flown by so quickly, but it has!  The past few years have been a struggle for all of us as we have learned to cope with the effects of a pandemic, both at home and in the classroom.  Pre-pandemic times both seem like it was a very long time ago, yet also like no time has passed at all.  Teaching in a pandemic has been difficult and I know I was not at my best.  However, a new year is ahead of us and it's time to get back to being a reflective learner and teacher, so #MTBoSBlaugust is back to help us get back into the groove!  You can read more of the details on this post - we would love to have you join in the fun!

My Word of 2022-2023

A few years ago, inspired by @pamjwilson, I started coming up with a word of the year to help guide me in setting goals.  While I usually do a personal word for the calendar year, I also started doing a "teacher word" to help guide me during the school year.  Several years ago, Pam sent me the beads to make a word of the year bracelet so I would always have that visual reminder on my wrist.

My word for 2022-2023 is Moments.

I've known this was going to be my word since January 2022 when I read the book The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath.  While the Heath brothers do not write specifically for education, many of their books have  great take-aways for teachers and The Power of Moments was no exception!

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book as it related to education:  

"Even though high school students log more time in the classroom than anywhere else, their most memorable experiences rarely take place there."

"A math professor said, “I want them to think of math as fun and interesting in its own right, not just practical. . . . When they see a link to a math story, I want them to click it.” "

"How much of your current syllabus will advance your students toward the dreams you have for them?" 

"A few minutes can change a life. These moments didn’t just happen; thoughtful teachers made them happen." 

One of my favorite examples in the book is about a hotel at Disney.  It's not the fanciest hotel, but it has the Popsicle Hotline.  You can call in and order your favorite flavor of popsicle, which is delivered on a silver platter by a white-gloved employee at no charge.  Moments like that doesn't take a lot of extra work or effort, but can elevate an average hotel stay to something that is memorable.  

In the classroom, we can do the same thing.  We can take those worksheets and elevate them using a game.  We can use some of those application problems and actually DO the experiment or gather the data and see what happens.  As the professor said in the quote above, we can make math fun and interesting for our students!

So this year, I am challenging myself to make moments for my students - to make the math meaningful and memorable.  I want to help them make connections, to be proud of their accomplishments, and to elevate some of the ordinary into the extraordinary.