It is summer time and some people think that nothing happens in schools during the summer. This is far from the truth, with a great deal of facility and curriculum and planning work that goes on in the summer time in order to get ready for the following year, and make improvements that will benefit students. Teachers and support staff and administrators put in a great deal of time and energy in order to do great things with students.
I do think that summer is also a time for those in the field of education to sing along with Timon, Pumba, and Simba and take some Hakuna Matata time. As the song says, Hakuna Matata, it means no worries for the rest of your days. (Now you won’t be able to get the song out of your head 😃 ) It is important to take some Hakuna Matata time, at least for a few days. In the interest of full disclosure, I have never been good at HM time but I’m working on it. In your HM time, reflect, play, relax, reenergize, and renew. Spend time with family, with friends, go to a concert or a baseball game. Take some time to step back and reflect on the difference you made with students last year and the year before that and the year before that. Take time to do some fun reading. Take time to just be. Be there for your family, be there for your friends, be there for your neighbors. Reach out to a friend or family member you haven’t talked to in a while to reconnect. I promise, you will be glad you did.
I know you will also be working to improve your craft for next year for your next group of students who are counting on you. You will do it because you care deeply about your students. I had the chance to hear Wes Moore (author of The Other Wes Moore) speak today and tell his story about educators and others in his life made a difference for him, who cared about him. Take the HM time to reenergize so you can continue to make a difference for the Wes Moore’s of the world.
This summer in my HM time, I’m going to Disney with my family (that’s why I have Disney on my mind) and I’m planning to finish reading Black Widow, Forever Red (yes, I’m a big superhero geek). Next year I begin the next phase of my journey to help educators continue to make a difference for kids.
