September. A long awaited month on the island. The temperatures are much more welcoming, the beaches are no longer fully packed and the intense energy of high season has come to an end. For most seasonal workers, it´s a time of winding down, and of contracts drawing to a close. In contrast, for me and the many teaching staff on the island, it´s a time to step it up a gear as we prepare for another academic year.
The main schools have gone back already, but the academy where I work at starts back on Monday 16th, a day which once felt a far way off! This past week we had a meeting at the academy, where we discovered which classes we´ll be teaching for the year. As Monday draws closer, I´ve been busy preparing myself for a smooth week one by planning the initial classes, making a checklist of materials I need and reflecting on what did and didn´t work so well last year. I´ve also been setting some goals for the year ahead, both personal and professional...
5 Goals for this academic year:
- Stay on top of planning - that old saying ´Fail to prepare; prepare to fail´ couldn´t be more relevant when it comes to teaching. I´m learning that one of the keys to a successful class is a solid plan that´s got a bit of wiggle room for in-class adjustments.
- Screen-free Sundays.
- Read more fiction. I´ve read a lot of quite heavy, factual books this year (hello Sapiens) - now is the time to balance that out.
- Prioritise self-care and a work-life balance.
- Stay open to learning and new experiences. Yes - I´m a teacher, but I´m a firm believer that we´re all students of life! Outside of the academy, I plan to restart some regular Portuguese practice (I studied the language at university, but I haven´t been using it as much as I´d hoped since moving here!) As for the academy, I´m ready for another year of absorbing the nuggets of knowledge that my wonderful colleagues pass onto me! Here´s to another year of personal growth, expanding my teaching techniques and developing my methods of classroom management.
To bring this post to a close, what better way to do so than by including a card pull for this academic year? I´ve been using tarot cards for around 18 months now, with friends, family and on an individual level, as an interesting form of introspection!
Drum roll please...
So, what do I need to know, to call in for the year ahead? Let´s have the cards do the talking...
Ripeness.
The commentary for this card indicates it´s the right time to ´share your inner riches... yourself, this expression of creativity´ with the world. .. and what a lovely card to set me up for the year! What teacher doesn´t want to shine a light on creativity? Ok, so I may not be an arts teacher, but I recognise the gift of creativity that lives within all of us... and as an educator, I feel a responsibility to nurture the creativity that resides in my students.
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