Summer is a great time for educators to take a step back from their processes and think about what’s working and what isn’t. For me, I usually set lofty goals about what I’ll accomplish over the summer. This year it was to read all of the books currently on my desk. I just counted – that’s 26 books – probably not going to happen.

Part of that reading is to also set goals for the school year. How I want to develop my classroom community. The boundaries I’m going to set for my work/life balance. The professional growth I’d like to make.

This year I’ve really been thinking about how I can continue to grow my practices. How I can continue to connect with other educators so that we can grow together.

I think part of this practice should focus on gratitude – the positive things in our classes and schools. But, the practice also needs to include areas for growth and improvement. Much of the blog space can push forward idealistic visions of what teaching and learning can/should look like. I think we all need to be real with each other and ourselves.

And so – I’m going to try to commit to a #weeklyreflection post. For me to make it a habit, I need to do it on the same day each week, but you do you. 😀 Maybe you’d rather start out with a monthly reflection, or just a reflection whenever you think of it.

Here’s how I’m planning to structure my reflection:

1. Celebrations – what went well this week? What can I celebrate in terms of student growth, establishing relationships, building my classroom community, and lesson design?
2. Challenges – what didn’t go so well this week? What did we struggle with in terms of student growth, establishing relationships, building community and lesson design?
3. Changes – Wow can I learn from the celebrations and challenges to promote my own growth? What do I need to adjust going forward?

My initial goal will be 5 celebrations, 3 challenges, 2 changes. For me, that will be a manageable amount of weekly writing. Again, you do you!

I would love to have other educators join me on this journey of truth and growth. Don’t have a blog? Just tweet out your celebrations, challenges, and changes. Share your ideas with the hashtag #ReflectionEDU so we can learn together!