Ah, optimism, you flirt. You know I'm a sucker. Why else would you be beckoning, with a mere 9 days of instruction left? It's been an uphill climb since August. Lots of mistakes along the way. Lots of doubts. Lots of learning things the hard way.
My mentor told me, as we careened into quarter 4, to not give up. I thought: don't worry, I'm not that kind of girl. It's tough to think about how far my classroom is from what I wanted it to be. It's a fact that we won't get there. It's a fact that our dysfunctions have impacted how much learning has taken place.
My mentor left me some materials from a program meant to build positive relationships among students. I'm debuting it tomorrow, with a simple activity. As I looked over the activity directions and typed up a quick reflection for students to fill out after, I felt the tickle of hope. If we can just spend that hour honoring the agreements and enjoying being together, it will be a start. A tiny one ... but I believe in the power of planting seeds and dreaming of forests.
