I am going to be perfectly honest and truly thought my word for 2019 and 2020 was BE. I am not sure how I mixed them up since intentional was supposed to capture 2020 but I took BE one step further in 2020. I truly had the presence and ability to be fully be in tune to what others were saying as well as putting in writing.
I am not going to lie. 2020 was truly a blur from March to October. The ever changing mandates, the changes, the fear, and the whirlwind so many educators and people were on was exhausting and, at times, paralyzing. While the days continued to pass, it did get easier by the end of 2020 to BE intentional about listening to others who had a different perspective or notion. I learned so much about bias that occurs by our nation as well as teachers and how to respond appropriately all while the pandemic occurred.
One of my biggest takeaways in 2020 was the fact that there are people who want to support teachers and teachers who want to learn more no matter the circumstance. I learned how to connect through zoom and have tough conversations about the inequities in education and what we are doing about it. I learned so much and also took away the fact that we are truly better together by listening, reflecting, pausing, and asking questions. I truly hope this collaborative discussion and community continues moving forward and even after the pandemic.
Moving forward to this year, 2021, my #oneword2021 will be intentional & I can’t wait to see the journey unfold through each memory. I want to focus on the extent and depth of intentional & in the different areas of my life.
Intentional focus on the planning of my lessons for my students as well as focusing on what is truly important to me by investing time and energy into these areas. Intentional direction of how I support my students, staff, colleagues, and family each day. Intentional commitment to what is important in my life. Intentional reflection by blogging more. Not only do I want to reflect and take time to truly listen and learn but I also want to have intentional voice by allowing others to read longer than 240 characters on Twitter. Intentional vulnerability by opening up on a platform and inviting feedback to help me grow as well as intentional purpose in what I do each day and along this journey in 2021.
Do you have a yearly goal or #oneword2021? I’d love to know more.
2021, let’s do this and I hope to continue to be intentional with the days ahead and the moments in between.
Elyse Hahne 