Just Reflecting

At the end of the school year, I always feel a bit overwhelmed with all the assessment and wrap up tasks that must be done.  It's not just the physical packing up of the room that will be "unpacked" in just a few weeks; it;s also the definition of learning as a phenomonae that "comes to an end" rather than as something that changes for a few weeks.  Let me explain what I am thinking.  Right now, there are teachers sitting on beach chairs who have bags filled with juicy novels and the latest from Heinemann.  There are children off at camps with bags filled with Wimpy Kids and comics.  The ads for back to school supplies have already hit the Sunday papers and most of us have not yet unpacked the bottoms of our school bags!  In addition, there are students and teachers in classrooms and outside of classrooms who are learning new ideas and reflecting on their past thinking.  There is a whole lot of "learning" that happens outside of classrooms!
As I looked around my not so perfectly clear house, I was reflecting that teaching is a lot like the household chores we all face.  Both are projects that are ever changing and demand we are always thinking about our next stepts!  There is always something to learn - and always something we could do - but most of the time it is best to reflect on where we have come - and what our next steps might be!