Time to Return – This Journey’s End is Near! #IMMOOC

In case you are not a connoisseur of fine rap music from the early 2000s, Eminem coins the line above in his signature song, Lose Yourself, found in the movie “8 Mile,” and perhaps the most famous of his career…save for Slim Shady, that is. For it was Slim Shady that put a white rapper in the mainstream for the first time with a disruptive and innovative sound of someone who had to fight tooth-and-nail for acceptance. 

But I digress.
We return to school tomorrow! It is my hope that you have found time to rest, recharge, and prepare for the final lap to our own Mile Run. As I stated at the Luncheon before we left for break, Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. While he may have run with a euphoria that I can only hope to find when running after Reid as he careens down the street on his bike, I can say for certain that the third lap in a mile run is the most difficult one. The exhaustion sets in, the monotony of the race seeps into your daily routine, and the finish line seems so far away.

No more!

Let the endorphins take over; allow your adrenaline to fly; put your creative courage to the sticking place. It’s time to start the FOURTH QUARTER. I challenge you to make this week your best one all year…until the following week comes and you can further up the educational ante.
As you design your classes moving forward, remember a few things:

• You are learning as much and as fast as the students; allow vulnerability to have a role in your classroom.
• The average attention of a middle school student does not exceed 11 minutes. Use your time wisely and mix it up!
• Your students should leave your class at the end of the year with MORE questions about your content area than when they came in…pique their interests and get them wondering.
• The greatest problem solvers can oftentimes be the problem finders. Turn your student questions into research challenges that our young people can own and share with their peers.

Have a great fourth quarter, everyone!