School began just two weeks ago. It's always a feverish start. No matter how much work is completed in the summer before, I somehow end up trapped in that same frenetic pace. Two days ago, I was literally running to get out the door and to work. As I almost stepped out the door and into the garage, a voice inside my head whispered, "Where are you running to?".
At the same time, I heard my son call from the top of the stairs, "Hey Mom, Wait! I have a question".
It occurred to me that I needed to stop. Slow down, Lisa. Go back into the house completely and listen to him. So I did. I put my bag down and went back into the house to talk with Sam and answer all of his last minute questions.
Yes, I was 15 minutes later to work than I usually arrived but nothing bad happened. School begins for teachers in my building near 7:30. I had begun the year trying to get there by 6:50. Today, I missed that time. I was late.
Well, not really. I am happy to report that the sky did not fall upon my late arrival to school. In fact, the arrival was beautiful.
I've spent the last couple of days thinking about that phrase -- Where am I running to? Where are we running to? It's a tough question on a personal level and on a professional level.
As I ramble through these ideas, it's the first Saturday in a long time that I haven't jetted off somewhere to accomplish an errand or attend an event. I decided last night there'd be no running to anything today. A part of me feels like I should already be in the car on my way to somewhere. Another part of me disagrees.
As an educator, I think we often want progress overnight. We want to see results immediately but we forget sometimes it's about the journey and not the destination. Sometimes, it's about that 15 more minutes listening to a child than it is about anything else. We forget that some of the best trips begin with baby steps. We can't get from point A to point B in 5 days. We want our schools to do everything all at the same time and with exact precision.
Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way. We know better than that.Yet when we find ourselves unable to get to our destination in the time we have allocated, we criticize ourselves. We even criticize each other.
We know better than that so let's stop it. We need to give ourselves more credit for where we are today. There's good happening all around us if we take the time to see it and listen for it. Instead of always looking ahead, take time to take a full look around you.
At the same time, I heard my son call from the top of the stairs, "Hey Mom, Wait! I have a question".
It occurred to me that I needed to stop. Slow down, Lisa. Go back into the house completely and listen to him. So I did. I put my bag down and went back into the house to talk with Sam and answer all of his last minute questions.
Yes, I was 15 minutes later to work than I usually arrived but nothing bad happened. School begins for teachers in my building near 7:30. I had begun the year trying to get there by 6:50. Today, I missed that time. I was late.
Well, not really. I am happy to report that the sky did not fall upon my late arrival to school. In fact, the arrival was beautiful.
I've spent the last couple of days thinking about that phrase -- Where am I running to? Where are we running to? It's a tough question on a personal level and on a professional level.
As I ramble through these ideas, it's the first Saturday in a long time that I haven't jetted off somewhere to accomplish an errand or attend an event. I decided last night there'd be no running to anything today. A part of me feels like I should already be in the car on my way to somewhere. Another part of me disagrees.
As an educator, I think we often want progress overnight. We want to see results immediately but we forget sometimes it's about the journey and not the destination. Sometimes, it's about that 15 more minutes listening to a child than it is about anything else. We forget that some of the best trips begin with baby steps. We can't get from point A to point B in 5 days. We want our schools to do everything all at the same time and with exact precision.
Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way. We know better than that.Yet when we find ourselves unable to get to our destination in the time we have allocated, we criticize ourselves. We even criticize each other.
We know better than that so let's stop it. We need to give ourselves more credit for where we are today. There's good happening all around us if we take the time to see it and listen for it. Instead of always looking ahead, take time to take a full look around you.
Great share Lisa. It would seem that there is something in the air at the moment. Although not quite the same, I also wrote a reflection on celebrating the small things relating to innovation http://readingwritingresponding.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/celebrating-innovation-both-big-and.html
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