Wintertime Slump

It is that time in the school year, where I feel in a slump. For no real reason other than cooler days spent watching Hallmark movies and drinking hot chocolate seem more appealing than teaching. I remember during my credential program a graph they showed for first year teachers.

While I'm not convinced I'm completely at the disillusionment stage. I feel like I'm at the intersection of frustrated and concerned. As with many years, changes on campus have created a "funny" feeling with many individuals. The sense of uncertainty and unknown plagues both the teachers and students. While reading an article about teacher slumps, this paragraph resonated with me:

"We have no precise analytic definition of the teaching slump, let alone a consensus among scholars about how to use the concept for research purposes. And yet it inhabits the inner and public lives of teachers, cutting a wide emotional path between the "bad day" and "burnout." Slumps have a life cycle. Often they're the last station before cynicism: the settled conviction that my passion for teaching and yours for learning are beyond repair." From Savor the Slump article.

While I know that my passion for teaching and students is not beyond repair. I feel like I need to focus on the amazing things my kids are doing and the opportunities they are creating for themselves through Ag education to help pull myself to that rejuvenation status like in the graph.

Amazing things happening now:

1. Canned Food Drive & Sonoma County Secret Santa Program: All my kids are pumped to donate items to those less fortunate. I think this speaks volumes to the type of kids I have in class. They feed my soul with their giving hearts and constant "give more" attitudes.
2. Changes from National Convention: Since attending National Convention, my officers changed our December FFA meeting from making gingerbread houses to a service project of making blankets to donate to the local senior center. They got all kinds of awesome ideas after watching the founder of Kid President's keynote speech. Watch his latest video here: Kid President Speaks from the Heart
3. One of my students created an awesome Ag Education program for grades K-8. She is calling it "Seeds for Students". She goes to the classes, presents about the importance of seeds and food production. Then each student gets to plant a seed to take care of at school and eventually take home. If you have an instagram, you should follow @SeedsforStudents

 

From Kid President, I feel like I just need the reminder to be awesome and treat everyone like it's their birthday...