Welcome to "Debriefing the school year," the podcast dedicated to helping teachers wrap up their school year with insightful debriefs and constructive conversations. This episode, we explore the highs, lows, and invaluable lessons learned over the past academic year. Join us as we discuss effective strategies, share success stories, and provide practical tips for professional growth and well-being. Whether you're a seasoned educator or just starting out, tune in to gain fresh perspectives, celebrate your achievements, and prepare for an even better year ahead.
Episode Title: Reflecting on Successes and Challenges
Introduction:
Main Segment: Year-End Reflections
Conclusion:
Call to Action:
AirPlay
(0:06) Welcome to another bite of the apple. On air with Kimberly Bolton. (0:11) Hey there, teacher.Are you sick and tired of this school year and you just want to get out of your building? (0:18) Well, I encourage you to do this one thing before you sashay out the door for the summer. (0:24) Tune in today to find out more. (0:26) Hi, I'm Kimberly Bolton, a 20 plus year teacher and administrator turned teacher mental health advocate and coach.(0:33) You can find me online at Kimberly dash Bolton dot com. (0:37) And this podcast is part of my super blog called Bites of the Apple. (0:41) It's bite sized nuggets of inspiration and motivation for stressed out teachers.(0:47) Today is the first of a four part series for June called Embracing the Summer for Restoration and Personal Growth. (0:54) And today we're going to talk about why end of the year debriefs and reflections are so important in your teaching career. (1:01) This episode is dedicated to all the teachers who survived the school year.(1:07) But first, I want to share a story about my early years in the classroom. (1:12) At the end of the year, I could not wait to get out of my building. (1:17) I would literally pack up my room, turn in my little end of the year checklist and run to the parking lot.(1:23) I always told myself I would deal with August in August. (1:28) But then when it came time for pre planning, I found myself practically recreating all of my unit plans and lesson plans each year because I couldn't remember what worked and what didn't work from the last year. (1:38) And I had this low level anxiety that I just couldn't put my finger on.(1:43) And as the years went by, I decided to take some time at the end of each quarter and make notes on how that quarter went, (1:50) what worked and what didn't work and how I would do it differently next time. (1:54) And it really made such a huge difference. (1:57) And the most important debrief was the end of the year debrief.(2:02) By the time June rolled around, I was practically traumatized. (2:06) I needed to unload all of the everything that I was carrying around with me. (2:10) I was toxic and unhealthy.(2:13) And therapy was a great place to start, but I needed more. (2:16) And I'll share more about that after we talk about why I think you should take some time here at the end of your school year to offload your stress. (2:24) So here are three reasons why I think that you should take the time to do an end of the year debrief.(2:31) Number one, immediate reflection captures accurate insights. (2:35) Give yourself a fresh perspective. (2:37) Reflecting immediately after your school year allows you to capture those experiences and successes and challenges while they're still fresh in your mind.(2:48) Because details can fade over time. (2:51) And real-time feedback for your own personal and professional growth is really valuable information. (2:58) And right now, you also have emotional clarity.(3:01) So reflect now when the emotional context of the school year is still vivid. (3:05) This can help you understand your emotional highs and lows, too. (3:10) And it will help you choose better emotional management strategies in the future.(3:14) And you can remember specific examples now. (3:17) So jot down specific incidents, both positive and negative. (3:22) These details can be crucial for planning and improving your teaching methods for next year.(3:27) So here's a question to consider about fresh perspectives. (3:31) What specific successes and challenges from this school year stand out to you? (3:37) And how might those experiences influence your approach next year? (3:43) And reason number two, why I think you should take time to do an end of the year debrief. (3:48) This is about effective planning and goal setting.(3:51) Because informed planning now will help you in August. (3:55) Don't do what I did. (3:56) Immediate reflection helps you to identify what worked well and what didn't.(4:02) And this will provide you a solid foundation to build on the next school year. (4:07) So sketch out some goals now based on these recently passed experiences. (4:12) This can lead you to more relevant and achievable objectives for next year.(4:18) You'll also remember what curriculum adjustments to make. (4:21) Reviewing the effectiveness of your curriculum now and teaching strategies now, (4:26) right here at the end of the school year, (4:27) will allow you to make important adjustments and improvements for next year. (4:32) So use reflection to tweak those lesson plans, integrate new teaching tools, (4:36) or modify your classroom management techniques.(4:39) And you can also take notes for your next professional development plan. (4:43) This way you know what PD to pay attention to over the summer. (4:47) So you can look for specific training or resources during the summer break (4:52) that are tailored to the needs that you identified in your reflections.(4:58) So here's a question to consider about informed planning. (5:02) What teaching strategies or classroom activities were most effective this year? (5:07) And which areas do you feel need improvement? (5:12) And here's the last reasons, the third of the three reasons, (5:15) why I think that you should take time at the end of the year to do a debrief. (5:20) And this, I think, is the most important.(5:22) Mental health and well-being. (5:24) You need the closure and transitions that end-of-the-year reflections can provide. (5:29) This will help you mentally transition out of this school year(5:33) before you get to the next school year.(5:36) And this practice can reduce anxiety and stress by acknowledging (5:41) and processing the experiences that you had this past year (5:44) because you need the stress relief. (5:49) Reflecting and debriefing can also act as a form of mental unloading (5:53) where you can offload your thoughts and emotions. (5:56) And this will lead you to a clearer, more relaxed state of mind as you go into the summer.(6:01) So structure these reflections to focus on positive outcomes (6:05) and learning points that you want to carry with you (6:07) because you need to take care of yourself. (6:10) And reflections can be a broader part of your self-care strategy. (6:13) So maybe doing something like journaling, talking with colleagues, (6:18) or doing some mindfulness exercises.(6:21) These all kinds of things can be a part of your reflection process. (6:25) So here's a question to consider about closure and transition. (6:30) How can reflecting on the past year provide a sense of closure for you? (6:35) And what next steps can you take to mentally transition out of this school year (6:41) and into the summer? (6:42) So to summarize it all up, your end-of-the-year reflection time helps you with three things.(6:50) Number one, capturing accurate insights. (6:52) Two, facilitating effective planning. (6:55) And three, supporting your mental health.(6:59) So I want to take you back to my story at the beginning. (7:02) My very favorite group of teachers created something that we call Book Club. (7:07) Book Club was our periodic off-site gathering (7:10) held at a place that served adult beverages.(7:14) We called it Book Club so that we could talk about it in front of the students. (7:17) And the books that we were reading were things like (7:22) Jack Daniels, The Band, The Myth, The Legend, and Tequila Mockingbird. (7:29) One of my favorite teacher friends was very clever in coming up with titles (7:33) for us to read at our Book Club.(7:39) Well, the end-of-the-year Book Club became my favorite session. (7:44) We told all the crazy stories of the best and the worst things that happened over that school year. (7:50) And the camaraderie and the commiseration was great.(7:52) And it really cleared my head to allow me to go into the summer like leaving the past in the past. (7:58) Now, you don't have to have adult beverages to share these kinds of stories. (8:01) But I do encourage you to do something to get it out of you (8:04) so that you can go into the summer without carrying all of this baggage with you.(8:10) So, for next steps, I encourage you to schedule some time on your calendar, (8:15) maybe during your post-planning time, certainly very soon, early in the summer. (8:21) I know you want to get out of your building, (8:23) but your future August self will thank you for taking the time now to do this. (8:29) And for the next three weeks, we're going to continue our series (8:33) on Embracing the Summer for Restoration and Personal Growth (8:36) dedicated to all the teachers who made it through the entire school year.(8:40) So stay tuned. (8:42) Next week, we're going to be talking about the role of personal passions in teacher well-being. (8:48) The week after that, we're going to talk about physical wellness and embodiment skills.(8:54) And the last week in June, we're going to talk about travel and learning (8:58) and expanding your horizons in the summertime. (9:01) So if you like what you hear, please share this with your friends. (9:05) Subscribe to get notifications of new Bites of the Apple episodes (9:09) delivered right to your inbox.(9:11) Follow me on all your favorite social media platforms. (9:13) And teachers, send me your favorite strategies that help you wrap up your school year. (9:19) I would love to highlight you in a future episode.(9:22) Email me at Kimberly at Kimberly-Bolton.com. (9:25) And if you're still overwhelmed by all of this, please contact me. (9:30) I'm here to help you. (9:32) And thank you for listening in.(9:33) And remember, you matter, teaching matters, your heart is your superpower, (9:40) and I believe in you.