Ending the Year on a Positive Note

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"These two wasted weeks in an elementary child's career equates to 12 weeks of lost learning which begs the question, "WHY?"

Because the education profession has been hijacked by the FAST, EASY, FUN generation who thinks "hard work" should involve equal measures of playtime, that contests should only produce "winners" (no losers), and that buying every cheesy device cranked out by Apple or Samsung is the ticket to enlightenment and success.

It always boils down to simple values. Since the Sixties, the American education system has done everything to destroy traditional values and any sense of true right and wrong. Moral relativism has replaced common sense and judgment. "Progress" is being defined as introducing kids to any intellectual or social aberration promoted by Ivy League elitists and their supplicants in the NEA, the AFT, and higher academe. These are the same people who used to think criminals like Che Guevara and Mao were "cool" when they were getting high in their dorm rooms decades ago.

All of this has contributed to a weakening of our nation beyond comprehension. But that's what the Ivy League elitists have always wanted, the end of American exceptionalism and parity with every other second and third tier nation in the world.

Sorry to say, but a lot of you in my profession contributed to this malaise by the political choices you've made over the years. I hope you are pleased with the outcome of your choices.

For the end of the year, we sit on the floor (campfire-style), eat pizza and simply talk. I get the students to think back to the start of the year and reflect on their accomplishments. The natural flow of the caht leans towards the upcoming school year: 'What's next?' is the obvious progression of the conversation. It is an opportunity to look back and look ahead, to remember and plan.

I really like the idea of student reflection as the school year comes to a close. It's like icing on the cake. My students create somthing similar to the comment about writing to the next years students. I have my students make a brochure, it includes a hand drawn picture of me along with a description of their new teacher. They also, write what these new students can expect to learn this year and rules they need to know about.

I like the idea of taking a reflective look back at the school year. Our grade level team has our students write a letter to next year's students reflecting on all they have learned this school year. The letters are then left inside the desks for the students to find when school resumes in the fall. The current students leave on a positive note.

I really like the idea of setting goals for the upcoming year. Although these goals may be forgotten over the summer, it is a good way to end the year with the future in mind. I had my students set goals about a month ago that they wanted to reach by they end of the year. I did this because I saw them (1st graders) becoming unmotivated toward the end of the year. I think that setting a goal for next year and thinking about how they can begin to reach that goal within these last few days is an engaging tool.