Reflection is necessary and very beneficial, but hard to do.
Why is reflection hard
to do? Time and Screens
Many times as a teacher, husband, and father I either do not
take the time to reflect or simply do not have the time. As a teacher, I am often busy grading papers,
entering grades, preparing lessons, working with students, teaching with an
overload, or working on preparing a presentation. This means I do not always have the time to
ponder on what is going on. I have no
time to ask myself “How is each class going?” or “How can I improve the student
learning in my classes?” Once in a while I have time to reflect at school but I
often choose to talk with a colleague or go hang out with students instead of
reflecting. Both of these are important. Positive relationships with fellow teachers
are helpful and encouraging, while relationships with students can often be
enjoyable, as well as educational.
Outside of school I have family responsibilities with kids’ activities,
household duties, and the never ending “to do” list.
So why would I say “screens” keep me from reflecting? When I am at school and have time I may check
my email, the weather, or Twitter for interesting educational ideas. All of these activities and apps take place
within a screen. When I am at home and have
time to reflect, I may hang out with my family or just want some down time, so
I turn to a screen (TV with Netflix) to relax.
All this can be good but it keeps my mind occupied so I can’t reflect. When I am sitting waiting for my son to get done
with soccer practice, I pull out my phone to check email instead of just
sitting there and reflecting on my teaching or personal life.
Why is reflection
important?
When you reflect you are able to see what is going well, what
is going okay but could be improved upon, and what is going poorly, definitely
needing to be changed and improved. I recently
had the pleasure of having some time to reflect. I was at a conference and took the advantage
of spare time to reflect with colleagues.
Conferences are normally great times to network and learn new things,
but at this conference I had the joy of reflecting with two of my co-workers. I had the pleasure of driving three and a
half hours to this conference with one colleague which was a great time to talk. For us, that meant discussing our classrooms
and our schools. Talking about what is
going well, what we are doing, why, what we would like to change in our
classrooms, as well as many other topics.
After three and a half hours we arrived and joined a third colleague. The three of us continued to reflect on how
things are going for a couple more hours.
We normally meet and talk one hour a week during our PLC (Professional
Learning Community) but having multiple hours to just talk and reflect was wonderfully
energizing. The next night we had more
time to talk and reflect over food after attending multiple breakout sessions.
Reflection is hard to do but I would encourage you to find
the time or make the time, to do so.
This can be done by removing screens at least once a week for the
purpose of reflection. This time spent
in thought will give you a new, fresh perspective. It
will help you see how blessed you are, and help you see the important instead
of just the urgent. Having the chance to reflect for multiple hours with a
colleague or friend is of great benefit as well.
