On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!!!

This summer the 2016 Olympic games were in Rio.  I know that there were many DVRs set to record the events of the Olympics: Opening Ceremonies, Favorite Events, and Closing Ceremonies. Several of the events that took place during the Olympics were races.  Many people around the world watched in anticipation for races to begin.  They watched in anticipation to see who would win. It was amazing to watch the various levels of celebration take place. We were able to watch and see some of the athletes celebrate with a smile from ear to ear because they had made it to: Olympics, final heat, a podium spot, or won a GOLD medal.  The part that we did not see as much were the personal celebrations that people made when they made a personal record, achieved a dream, and/or accomplished their goal.

We have all spent the last week or so taking our mark, getting set, and now we are GOING!

We are running with anticipation, excitement, and eagerness into the 2016-2017 school year.  The closest Olympic event that I can relate the school year to is a Marathon.  The school year is not something that will be over in a quickly, but something that will require work day in and day out.  In my years of running, I have gathered that no matter how fast you are going to run your race, very few people walk across the starting line.  Most of us woke up today and showed up to start the school year running.

Whether you are an experienced teacher or this is your first year, we are all starting the same race,  the 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR.  We know that you, just like Olympic athletes, have put in the training, hard work, preparation, and dedication to be a teacher.  Any person training and then competing at something knows that they will hit a wall at some point in time.  Hitting a wall in a race is normal and expected by most.  The size of their wall is different.  When you hit that wall, do not be afraid to look around and see the crowd cheering you on.  You have a crowd of students, parents, administrators, your Math Department, PLC Team, and Staff Developers to cheer you on to keep going through the school year.  Whenever you hit your wall, I encourage and challenge you to look around and see who is there beside you cheering loudest to help you keep going.  

At the end of most races runners earn a medal.  We as teachers will probably not earn a gold medal at the end of year to wear around our neck for everyone to see.  Instead teachers receive other gold medals to hold onto that will be treasured for the rest of our lives. We too can smile from ear to ear when we are able to think about the personal records, student learning, pictures, stories, celebrations, letters, college acceptance letters, and many more things that we have accomplished this school year.  

Take some time and think about what is going to be your Personal Record (PR) for the 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR.  As Staff Developers we would love to read your Personal Goals in the comments (do not worry you can comment anonymously if you want to) and then celebrate alongside you when you reach those goals.