reflecting

Ever wonder what teachers do when the kids all leave for the summer? Now you will know. After the hard work of book sorting, they begin the tedious work of cleaning out the clutter. Amazingly, for effective teachers everywhere, there is something very special that happens while all the cleaning and sorting is taking place in a quiet and empty but usually hot and sticky classroom.  Teachers are reflecting about the year.  They think about what went well and what did not go quite so well.  They think about the kids who grew exponentially and those that floundered at times.  Teachers think about the lessons and units that excited them all and about the times where teaching and learning were less stimulating.  Teachers think about read alouds and mentor texts and earmark ideas for the next year.  In true confession, effective teachers do not stop reflecting when they get to the bottom of the piles of books and papers.  They continue to reflect as they attend workshops, read professional books, and even when they sit on the beach.  Teachers everywhere do this to prepare for the next school year because great endings make fantastic beginnings :)