PLAN to Finish Strong!

Nancy R. DeHaan
Executive Director, MACSA

About twenty years ago, my family and I were preparing for a 700 mile “cross country” move – from Michigan to New Jersey. We had about a month to pack and get ready for “moving day.”

I remember those first few days and weeks of packing. The boxes were chosen with care – not too big (they would be too heavy) but not too small (who wants to haul bunches of little boxes). Packing tape, rolls of bubble wrap and color coded “room labels” were ready and waiting! Each box was packed with care, carefully taped and accurately labeled – not just with the color coded room label, but with an “inventory list” taped to the outside of the box! We were organized – and we were moving right along! We didn’t ask for much help – we knew how we wanted it done, so “Thanks, but no thanks” was often the response!

And then . . . the days were passing faster than we were packing! We had deadlines to meet and the moving day was not very flexible. So . . . the unthinkable happened, we began just putting “stuff” in boxes (and size, any shape – if it was cardboard, it was being used) and labeling them as “Miscellaneous – Kitchen” or “Miscellaneous – Kid Stuff”. Color coded? Who needs color coded labels anyway!

Well – we got the packing (and moving) done – but I still think there might be a few missing boxes!

Interesting story, but . . . what’s the point?

Do you remember those first few days and weeks of teaching? The lesson were chosen with care – not too long (the kids had been out of school all summer and needed to be eased back in) but not too short (you still had to fill a FULL day of school). The supplies were ready: workbooks were new, no dog-eared pages in the textbooks and the lunchboxes didn’t have the “lived in” look (or smell). Your lesson plan book was up-to-date with the specifics of each lesson carefully written in the appropriate square, including the appropriate page numbers and supplemental activities!

And now . . . the days are passing faster and the kids are already “shutting down”. There is still SO much to cover and the last day of school is not very flexible (you can stop praying for a snow day this time of year!) By now – your lesson plan book (if you can find it) is full of arrows, sticky notes and an occasional coherent activity –and you LOVE filling in those squares with the words FIELD TRIP, SPECIAL ASSEMBLY or EDUCATIONAL VIDEO!

Are you about ready to do the “unthinkable” in your classroom? Are you doing “stuff” for the sake of the stuff - just to “finish” the book? Are you letting “group projects” replace your teaching (you HAVE to have time to grade those book reports, right)?

Don’t let the end of the school year just “happen.” Be proactive in your planning – yes, PLANNING. The end of the school year will still be hectic and the kids will still be spending more time talking/thinking about summer vacation than the lesson at hand - unless your “lesson at hand” is about summer and summer vacation – planning a road trip (geography, math, English). With creative planning – you can finish strong and you won’t spend the summer wondering if there were any “missing boxes” from this school year!