I pushed down my crutches, grabbed a chair, and then as gracefully as I could, I stood up on a desk. The students’ horrified jaws dropped in disbelief at what they were seeing their teacher with a broken foot doing. “Tonight, you’re going go home and tell your parents about this firsthand account about you just saw. Virtual students, I’m sure you’re going to share your secondhand account with your parents too. …Now can someone help me get down?”
The things I’ll do to teach a standard are almost endless. My first year of teaching in a private school I dressed up as Martin Luther to teach my class about the 95 Theses. Another year, I transformed my portable into a jungle with real fines and dirt that littered our floor where students had to dig for minerals and organisms.
The experiences we give students last a lifetime and I believe the time put into them are worth it. For me, even post surgery on a knee scooter and crutches…I’ve been given the green light. Like the rules of the road, there are things I can do, can’t do, or can but with caution.
How is your personal life? Do you feel like the red light hasn’t changed in months? I’m raising my hand high to that. If you combine my foot injury in January, the global pandemic in March, moving new cities and schools in June, and surgery in September, I feel like I’ve been glued at the red light in a downpour of rain. I’m sure I’m not alone.
That’s why this month I changed my routine and the red light suddenly turned GREEN! It was the greatest feeling ever. I did a few things differently. First and foremost, I realized how I was feeling and was determined to change it.
Here’s my list of changes I made.
· Changed my route to and from work once a week
· Devoted more time to socially connect with friends in person
· Complete as much as I can on my school checklist each day
· Went to bed at an earlier time
· Spent less time on social media, more time reading & resting.
· One day a week, it’s pizza day! (Sometimes ice cream)
· Sit outside when the sun is coming up and listen to nature
· Focus only on what I can control and let the other things go
Whatever you’re going through, whether you’re reading this now, or ten years from now, look up, you have the green light! It’s time to go (with a mask on)!
