I have had a rough year this year when it comes to attendance at school. I have had various illnesses, and major injury, and other life circumstances. I have taken my usual extent of days of for various Professional Development at Illinois Reading Council Conference, Secondary Reading League Conference, NCTE, and many other smaller scaled meetings.
In truth, I am not even willing to count up the days that I have missed. I am embarrassed and feel terribly about it.
What bothers me the most is the fact that I let my students down and missed watching them grow.
Did they meet academic goals?
Yes! Most of my data for my students this year is amongst the top in the district.
But learning is so much more than the academic growth.
I have come to see my classroom as a place of growth in life understanding. I often have students come back to me and explain how the ways in which we learn and the openness to have students be heard was life changing for them.
I allow students to speak their minds, have opinions, and challenge their own (older) thinking.
This cannot happen when I am not there. There is so much more to my class than the academics.
Can I make it up to them? No.
Can I forgive myself? Working on it.
Be Mindful.
Peace.
Mark Levine
#Mindfulliteracy
@LevineWrites
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