Back To School

So I go back to school tomorrow. Kids will be back on Monday. Trying to wrap my head around all of this. Trying to get my mindset going. This admittedly has been a really hard summer with a lot of unexpected events taking place.  That makes changing gears a little more difficult. But my biggest question to myself is “What is my goal this year?”

My mom told me a story  few weeks ago about Louis Pasteur. Of all of the things that Pasteur did in his life time, when asked what he wanted on his tombstone he responded “JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.” You see Joseph Meister was bitten by a dog a with rabies. Pasteur at the time was researching a rabies vaccine. He had never tested the vaccine when Meister’s mom begged him to try it on her son. After 10 days of injections the 9 year old lived.

Pasteur’s tombstone does not have the sentiment on it (actually he does not have a tombstone, but a beautiful tomb), but to him it was important. As teachers we forget that every day in our classroom is important. Every lesson is important. Also, every student is important. Often teachers focus on the “big tech project” or this unit that is time consuming or extravagant, but we forget that the lessons everyday are not to be forgotten. Don’t do one big PBL activity a month, do small ones every day. Lets students know these are just as important because learning is happening.

It is the little everyday events, conversations, lessons, that matter. It is the 9 year old that who needs just 10 days of attention to survive. So as we go back to school, don’t focus on the big stuff, focus on the everyday. That is this year’s goal.