Reflections on Teaching » Week 32: The beginning of the end…

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Week 32: The beginning of the end…

by alicemercer

There’s a quote from Churchill that I love, “It’s not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.” Teaching sixth graders in elementary school really feels like the beginning of an end, and now that we are entering the final month of school, it’s that much moreso. Still, it’s not just an ending for the kids, but the start of a new beginning.
I’m doing a bit for Larry Ferlazzo’s Ed Week column on the final weeks of school, and this post will expand on some of the ideas there.
My first rule is to avoid countdowns, and to really avoid doing them with the kids. There’s a countdown on the staff restroom whiteboard that’s been going since April, but I really do not like thinking about the “end of school” and summer until about 5-6 weeks from the end. Doing a countdown with the kids seems to give them license to act as though it’s all over already, so I avoid that.
The kids at this point know the end is nigh, they don’t need me reinforcing the idea.  The behavior documented in my Windy Week Edition hasn’t improved much, even as the skies have settled down. My gambits to deal with