The importance of reflective practice

When I started this blog, I had two intentions: to gather all my previous writing related to teaching in one place and to encourage myself to make space for reflection about education and my school life.

Then, as is the way too often, I let it slip away. I struggle to keep my school life at school, and making space to record my thoughts and reflections is not easy. So, my grand experiment failed at the outset, with my most recent post being last August, right at the beginning of the school year.

Part of why might be that I didn't get much response. No one came to talk to me about what I had written. I understand. They are busy too. My colleagues struggle to fit it all into the allotted hours just as much as I do, so why would they have the free time to read my reflections?

But I wasn't keen enough on the project to keep it going if it wasn't finding any kind of audience. That feels too much like shouting into the wind.

But my principal popped by to talk to me in December. And he had read some of what I'd written.

 He didn't take from it what I hoped he would. In fact, it seemed he had only read the post about why I wanted to give up teaching, one I'd written in 2014 and added to this blog only because I was collecting all my teaching-writing in one place.

Nevertheless, it gave me a nudge.

And so I'm back. Pushing myself to record some thoughts here, to think about why I do still teach, and why I do still love it, in spite of all the difficulties and frustrations. I'll write about how I deal with those obstacles, striking a balance between engagement and self-protection that makes it tenable to consider as a career I might yet retire from (assuming North Carolina doesn't just stop providing retirement by the time I get there, like they did with longevity pay, master's degree pay, and a living wage).

I hope some of you will come along for the ride with me, but even if you don't, the reflection is useful for myself. Articulating my thoughts and feelings is a way of coping and understanding, after all.