Dear teacher,
Whether we like it or not, the 2025-26 school year is upon us.
The impossible to escape back to school sales have sprung up in every store you step into. Your class rosters have been carefully created. And those pesky Keenan videos in our inbox are patiently awaiting your viewing.
In honor of our inevitable return to the classroom, I offer you my August Aspirations, The ABCs for Teachers.
A is for Advocate
May we be granted a fathomless well of inner strength so that we may advocate for the youth in our charge. Let us be steadfast as we advocate for the best interests of all our students, even if it runs contrary to popular beliefs.
To this end, I vow to stock my classroom library with books that act as mirrors, windows, and doors so that all students feel seen and heard. Empathy and respect for others (and all lifeforms) will be the norm in my classroom.
B and C are for Building Connections
Within our classroom communities, may we build powerful, long-lasting connections, not only between peers but between curricular content too. Life is like a rich tapestry, where individual strands are woven together, becoming both beautiful and strong. So too must our curriculum be.
If we're examining an event in history, we're also reading books and articles about that event. We're communicating our thoughts, opinions, and knowledge with each other and the larger community by writing poems, narrative stories, and information about that event.
Reading, grammar, and writing doesn't have to be isolated in its own time block during the school day. Instead, build inter-curricular units that allow students to gain a powerful and deep understanding of a relevant topic.
D is for Drop What Isn't Working
No matter how meticulously you've planned, or how many times you've done that engaging lesson, or explained that rule or routine, sometimes . . . it just doesn't work.
Not this time. Not with these kids. Not this year. Which is rude and annoying, I know.
As a type A personality, it can get really frustrating when my vision doesn't come to fruition exactly the way I imagined. But, when I take a step back and reevaluate, sometimes good enough is . . . well . . . good enough.
So, dear teacher, it's time we give ourselves permission to drop whatever isn't working for you anymore. It's okay to stop in the middle of a disastrous lesson or project, cut your losses, and move on. No sense wasting even more time on what isn't working.
Instead, find a new path forward. Try something else, something unexpected and see where it leads. Remember, nothing is set in stone. If we created it, we can change it. In writing terms, we call that revision, and it is a vital part of both writing and teaching.
E is for Empower
How often do we give our students (and ourselves) a chance to speak up and speak out about something that they feel passionately about? At the elementary level where I teach, adults make all the decisions, rarely soliciting input from our students (or even teachers sometimes).
I want my students to leave elementary school empowered and equipped with the tools they need to use their voice to make a difference in their world. That requires that my students write (and speak) for authentic purposes to an authentic audience.
This is actually fairly easy to accomplish. We can write stories to read to younger classes. We can advocate for our needs by voicing our opinions in letters to the principal. We can express sincere gratitude to the people in our lives. The opportunities are pretty much endless. All it takes is a little tweak to your lesson plans and suddenly a whole world of possibilities opens up for our students.
E and F are for Embrace Flexibility
Listen, we both know that nothing ever goes as planned. Waited until the last moment to do that assessment? Great! Here's an extra unplanned emergency evacuation? Need to finish up that fitness test? Enjoy your rainy day!
Rather than stressing out over things you can't change, go with the flow and be flexible. What can you quickly trim out of the lesson plan to accommodate the inconvenient schedule disruption?
Keep a list of short, no-prep activities you can assign your students whenever an emergency crops up. In my class, practicing handwriting, typing, or multiplication facts are my favorite go-to's. Sometimes my favorite lessons have been spur of the moment.
G and H are for Go Home
This year, G and H will stand for Go Home, not Grade Huge Piles of Assignments. Now I might be entirely guilty of being a workaholic, but if I must work, at least I can work from the comfort of my own home.
When it comes to writing assignments, keep these three things in mind . . .
1. If you can grade every writing assignment you give your students, they aren't writing enough.
2. A grade by itself means nothing to students. Students learn best from feedback followed up by a relevant and necessary writing mini-lesson.
3. Never spend hours of your time marking up writing pieces, correcting every mistake a student made. It only serves to demoralize them and make them dependent on you for editing.
I is for Inquiry
When was the last time you engaged in an inquiry project? You know, experimented in your classroom? Had fun exploring something new or different or scary? Not because you were voluntold to, but because you wanted to shake things up.
So, dear teacher, what would you try or do if you knew you absolutely wouldn't fail? What's stopping you? Reach for the stars this year and thrive on this year. Need inspiration? Watch this video.
J is for Joy
Some days, teaching feels like a thankless job devoid of any joy. Well, dear teacher friend of mine, it's time to bring that joy back into your classroom and school.
Love art? Do it! Then write about the experience. Create a stack of artistic postcards you can give out as thank-you cards later.
Want to teach a novel or read aloud to your students? You can never go wrong with extra reading and there are tons of studies about the benefits. Plus, when you're done, kids can write in their journals to summarize the plot and predict how the story will continue. Win-win!
Need a moment to just play and laugh and have fun in the middle to test prep? Go for it! Then write about it. A poem, a how-to, a reflective journal entry. Write words, write sentences. Even play time can be academic if we want or need.
Find your joy this year. Joy is always justified and necessary.
K and L are for Kindle Laughter
School is seriously hard work, both for us as teachers and for our students. While the work we do is important, it doesn't always have to be so heavy and serious. When was the last time you intentionally planned a lighthearted lesson? When was the last time your class laughed together?
This year, do more to kindle laughter. Plan an outlandishly playful writing prompt. Throw in a soundtrack and a funny photo to spark the imagination. Then step back and be prepared to laugh.
M is for Mental Health Moments
Mental health is just as important as physical health and academic learning. Maybe even more so. How will you protect your own mental health this year?
I'm setting firm boundaries this year:
- I won't reply to emails off contract time.
- When I'm getting frustrated while dealing with a student behavior issue, I am taking 10 seconds to just breathe and calm down before responding.
- When I need a sick day or mental health day, I will take it.
- And I will remind myself to let others help me. I don't have to always go it alone. The success of the school is not resting purely on my shoulders.
N, O, and P stand for NOPE (Notice, Open Mind, Prioritize)
Maybe this is just me, but I love to be involved in everything. I see potential for improvement everywhere. I want to do all the things, so my plate is always overflowing with projects that somehow I wind up spearheading. Often alone. And it has led to a lot of burnout this past year.
Nope. Not this year. I will be much more selective with what I choose to take on. I won't let my passion overtake my entire life. And when it does, I will be more mindful to gather a team of likeminded people and learn to delegate.
While this applies to my entire life, it might apply to your classroom as well. I want you to . . .
- Stop and notice your routines and lessons. Are they producing the results you want? Are you making more work for yourself?
- Keep an open mind to possibilities and changes. Is there a better way to do this? Do you even need to do this anymore?
- Prioritize the things that yield high results. Drop or delegate anything that isn't of high value anymore. What can you say nope to?
Q is for Quick Revising
As a writer, I can tell you that revision is probably the most crucial step in the writing process. It's also one of my favorite steps. What I don't love is the way most teachers teach revision and editing. Yes, revision can be painful. But it doesn't have to be!
Instead of making revision a long drawn out process that induces frustration, reluctance, and usually a few tears, turn revision into a fast paced game. Toss vocab cards on the floor and give your students 1 minute to steal 5 words. Then give them 5-10 minutes to reread their writing piece and swap out boring words for better ones.
Try turning revision into a fun game of musical chairs, where kids help revise each other's writing pieces. Blast some fun music, set a timer, and give short (but important and powerful) revision tasks. Then follow up with short writing mini-lessons as needed.
Sometimes - probably a lot of times - we need to step outside the box to find a creative solution to our classroom problems. What will you revise in your own classroom this year?
R, S, and T stand for ReST
This year, I will get more ReST, which stands for rehydrate, step away or step outside, and talk.
Note to self: Girl, you do not need more professional development or trainings. You do not need to work 24-7. But you do need to connect with your community again. So step away from your computer. Put down those papers waiting to be graded. Grab a drink. Grab a friend. And talk. Laugh. Love. Live.
U is for Upgrade the Outdated
When you know better, you do better. Are all of my teaching practices practical, based on current research and effective? Honestly, probably not. This year, I aspire to upgrade my methods in order to better serve my students.
V is for Voice
Finding and harnessing our voice is just as important for teachers as it is for our students. This year, use your voice to make a positive change in your life and community. How do you want to change your world?
W is for Write More
A poem a day, one journal entry, or a simple haiku to share with teachers like you, it doesn't really matter what you write only that you write. Write when the kids write, then share your writing as a mentor text and revise it together. Write when the day is done to reflect, plan, or simply give thanks. Write a thank-you card to a student or a parent, a peer, a friend, a loved one. Write for escapism's sake. The best writing teachers are those who . . . well . . . write, ya know?
X is for Xerox Less
This year, I will not allow myself to battle the Xerox machine. No how, no way. You won't catch me with my arm deep in a copy machine's innards, arm wrestling for supreme dominance, wasting my precious prep time. I refuse to be drawn into a lengthy standoff with a poorly-made, rickety old office machine that has no business in a school setting. So handy worksheets with low educational value, you are hereby banished from my classroom forever more (or at least until we get a more reliable and study copy machine).
Y is for You
This job we do, while incredibly important and valuable, doesn't have to be all-consuming. Yes, everything we do is for the students, but they aren't the only important ones in the room.
You are important and you are loved.
The world needs you. So take care of you this year. Feed your own passion, whatever that may be. And let your best self shine because you can, you will, and you are changing the world just by being you.
Z is for Zzzs
This teaching gig is tough, y'all. We (and I do mean I) need to get our beauty sleep. It's vital to our physical and mental health. Being responsible for the daily physical, mental and academic welfare of the youth of the world takes its toll on us. We give it everything we've got day in and day out, but draining our social and emotional battery leads to burnout, leaving us with far less patience than what we need to function in the job and at home.
As a self-professed workaholic, I make this solemn vow to stop working by 8:00 p.m. This teacher needs those nightly zzz's to dream up good trouble. What good trouble will you scheme up this year?
Writing Prompt:
What are your aspirations for this school year, dear teacher?
Spend a few minutes writing, then drop a comment below to share your aspirations with us. And if you enjoyed this blog post, please share it with all your teacher friends.
