I recently bought a shirt on-line that read “Hey Marty, whatever happens, don’t go to 2020”. This great pop culture reference to Back to the Future got me thinking about messages. If I could leave a message about 2020 to myself or even to someone else, what would I have to say?
We can all use advice or hear shared experiences from someone who has been there before. I have always loved having students write a letter to the next cohort about what they learned by taking my course and what kind of advice they would give to the next person to be successful. This is a great way for high school seniors to feel like they are part of the community and still will be after they leave.
When reflecting on the year, I always recommend a few guidelines to make sure that the message is clear and effective:
DON'T
…give a summary of the past
…list too many pieces of advice
…make it too personal
DO
…state the purpose
…stick with one piece of advice
…keep it universal
David Peabody, an educator for over 20 years, shares in his local TED Talk about ways that he curates his life. His presentation “The Art of Reflection” provides ways we can reflect on our lives in creative and inspirational ways. One of the things that struck me most was how much he captured in just a few seconds of his life. He was inspired by a person who created a 1 second video application. Watch the first few minutes of his presentation, as he models a collage of a few seconds into his life through video. It is overwhelmingly clear how much of our lives are filled with just snapshots and how quickly we can miss out on a moment in the blink of an eye.
There are 31,556,926 seconds in a year. For me, most of those seconds in 2020 were the hardest of my career, but I made it and learned so many things about myself. This was a year of human connections even with physical distancing. I want to believe that teaching and supporting a school community during a pandemic will be the hardest thing any one of us have done. With that being said, we should still recognize the challenges—failures—and wins from the 2020-2021 school year.
Let me know what kind of message you would give to yourself or others as you reflect on this school year. Even better, I would love to hear what your students would have to say. We always learn more by being empathetic and learning from someone else’s perspectives.
See You Real Soon,
Erin