Failing by Fear Isn't An Option #TLAP
Okay so the truth is this summer....I almost called in sick because of a tremendous fear of failing. I spent the day before the race running through my head the excuses that I could come up with. (My dad always told me growing up I had 50 million and one excuses). I am not a runner, I run to relieve stress, I have a fear of running around others, and let's face it in the craziness of the past few months (teaching, end of the school year, coaching, and working at my part time job at the garden center) I didn't have time to prepare for this. I had no idea what to expect.
I wasn't however, ready to let these three down. They have had my back no matter how turbulent the storms of life may get. I did something I never had the strength and courage to do, run my first 5K. My goals were #1 to finish the race and #2 to not be last! I maintained a position that I knew I was safe (to not be last)... and may have had my fleece tied around my neck to stay comfortable (I'm sure it looked ridiculous!) and I finished with a split of 12:10. Thank you to Amy Kornowski, Sarah Kornowski, and Chris Kornowski, for the extra push and courage that you give me in life. This was yet another fear conquered in 2014!
What I realized is this experience is no different than the fears that our students have both inside and outside of the classroom. Often times, students will choose the path that it is "easiest/most comfortable to them." As adults we are guilty of this as well and I consider myself one of the biggest offenders! My challenge this year is to get my students to take a step out of their comfort zone and to challenge them to do more and be more both as a person and as a student. We are all human, we all have fears. What experiences can I provide for them to face some of these fears? What encouragement can I provide them and what type of safe classroom atmosphere can I create to foster the celebration of mistakes and learning? How can I provide opportunities and foster DETERMINATION, GRIT, and PERSEVERANCE in my lessons?
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL LESSON: This is yet another inspired #TLAP lesson where I am going to wear my racing bib on the first day of school. After all, isn't the school year really a race in itself? I will hold the suspense and wait a bit into the class period to share this story. I am going to relate it to our class and emphasize that in this room we accept challenges and that we don't opt out. I am going to ask students to create their own race bibs for the school year. The number can have to do with what their challenge is. For example, if they aspire to score 15 goals for the the soccer season, their number would be 15. If their fear doesn't have to do with a number, they can choose a number that has something to do with something else or use their favorite number. Students will then come up with a fear or challenge to conquer during the school year that will be written on the back. I will post these up in the room so that only the front (number) is visible. Throughout the year, (via Google Forms) I will ask students to reflect on the progress of their fear/challenge, ask what I can do to help, and possibly consider following with a celebration at the end of the year. What we teach (content) is important, but these lessons are the ones that students will remember for a lifetime.
Feedback and suggestions for this lesson are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED!!!
I wasn't however, ready to let these three down. They have had my back no matter how turbulent the storms of life may get. I did something I never had the strength and courage to do, run my first 5K. My goals were #1 to finish the race and #2 to not be last! I maintained a position that I knew I was safe (to not be last)... and may have had my fleece tied around my neck to stay comfortable (I'm sure it looked ridiculous!) and I finished with a split of 12:10. Thank you to Amy Kornowski, Sarah Kornowski, and Chris Kornowski, for the extra push and courage that you give me in life. This was yet another fear conquered in 2014!
What I realized is this experience is no different than the fears that our students have both inside and outside of the classroom. Often times, students will choose the path that it is "easiest/most comfortable to them." As adults we are guilty of this as well and I consider myself one of the biggest offenders! My challenge this year is to get my students to take a step out of their comfort zone and to challenge them to do more and be more both as a person and as a student. We are all human, we all have fears. What experiences can I provide for them to face some of these fears? What encouragement can I provide them and what type of safe classroom atmosphere can I create to foster the celebration of mistakes and learning? How can I provide opportunities and foster DETERMINATION, GRIT, and PERSEVERANCE in my lessons?
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL LESSON: This is yet another inspired #TLAP lesson where I am going to wear my racing bib on the first day of school. After all, isn't the school year really a race in itself? I will hold the suspense and wait a bit into the class period to share this story. I am going to relate it to our class and emphasize that in this room we accept challenges and that we don't opt out. I am going to ask students to create their own race bibs for the school year. The number can have to do with what their challenge is. For example, if they aspire to score 15 goals for the the soccer season, their number would be 15. If their fear doesn't have to do with a number, they can choose a number that has something to do with something else or use their favorite number. Students will then come up with a fear or challenge to conquer during the school year that will be written on the back. I will post these up in the room so that only the front (number) is visible. Throughout the year, (via Google Forms) I will ask students to reflect on the progress of their fear/challenge, ask what I can do to help, and possibly consider following with a celebration at the end of the year. What we teach (content) is important, but these lessons are the ones that students will remember for a lifetime.
Feedback and suggestions for this lesson are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED!!!
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OMG! I love this, Andrea! Can I please copy this idea? I want to do this on the first day as well! Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDude! I love this idea as well. At the end of the year, could you then hand out finisher "medals" to conclude your year long analogy? Have you given thought to what material you are going to have them create their bib on? Paper would work but it would be super cool if you could find something Teyvek-like to make it more like a real race bib & less like a random school assignment.
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