The home stretch has begun at my school. You know, that glorious time when every activity, plc idea, achievement test, awards ceremonies, field days, school spirit parades, step up days, parent visit days, and whatever else you can think about is crammed into the remaining 9 weeks. (That's 45 school days, if you didn't realize.) Yes, this is all going on as students are enjoying the extra daylight at whatever extracurricular sport or activity in which parents have selected for their children. Practice til 9 pm every night? Sure! Additionally, this is where families decide to save on the summer prices and take that family vacation now. Don't forget that your 2nd cousin twice removed is graduating from Kindergarten and the whole family needs to take a 10 day trip as a celebration/reunion. Now, when makeup work is a challenge to manage while meeting all of the deadlines from the school. Did I mention that some students have already told me that they "never come the last week of school" because "we never do anything anyway". Yikes!
We have a couple of options as teachers. We can either look at the home stretch as the time when we are stretched to cover all of our responsibilities, or we can look at the home stretch as the opportunity to teach our students how to develop focus and how to keep their eyes on a goal.
I don't like to feel stretched. It makes me feel like I am doing a lousy job at everything, when in truth, I'm often very successful. It makes me aggravated and unappreciated, when truly there is no need to harbor those feelings. I spent many years stretching and stressing only to find that I didn't enjoy the fruits of my labor from the year. This is the quarter where we should be seeing the results of our hard work. This is where someone finally matures and becomes a great student, or learns the elusive concept. I want to enjoy it. I determined several years back that I would not miss the best part of the year by being preoccupied with stretching to the point of breaking.
How do we focus parents and students on our stated goals? Well, here's a few things I've done that have helped me along the way.
- Communicate: I contact parents and let them know that as they make their plans, our class works and tests until the last day of school. If they plan to travel, please remember that the student has academic responsibilities and will need to take tests in advance of the travels. I have found that if parents become aware that you intend to keep students learning until the last minute, they are more likely to be selective in their plans as they pertain to school days. Then, I really teach and test until the final day.
- Communicate: I let parents know that as part of the preparation for the advances in the next grade, we will be increasing student responsibility in the form of homework. I advise them that we have x number of tests or chapters between now and the last day. I remind them that we are preparing their student for the future and for their continued success and that it will take every minute to achieve our goals. Then, I really work to prepare them and I give them the homework as promised.
- Clarify: My students are aware of our goals and of our path toward the goals. I list them on the board each week and we check them off, one by one, as we reach the goals. Believe it or not, putting the check on completed items is a coveted job.
As we strive together to keep our eyes on the goal, I find that the home stretch does what it is supposed to do--motivate everyone to give every effort to find success. They need to dig deep and give it all they have. As we are doing that, I find that I don't find myself feeling stressed/stretched. I find myself enjoying the end of the year, the way you would enjoy the perfect ending to a book or a movie.
I wish you well on the home stretch!
First published March 31, 2018
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