I’m just under 10 days away from the end of this school year and we all know this was a tough one. We thought last year was but then… but then… However, a saving grace for me this year were the emails that I scheduled for tough times at the end of the last school year. Letters to my future self – written by me, to me! This is my teacher tip for self-reflection: Write yourself letters (or emails).
Writing to the Future
Yes, you read that; I scheduled emails to myself! A tweak on an end-of-year activity that I do with my students each year. (You can check out that ready-made lesson here.) When my students wrote their letters last year across several periods of classes, I wrote ones to myself. I will do the same thing over the next 10 days. I will use futureme.org to schedule those emails to myself too. Then I will forget about what day and time I set and be pleasantly surprised when one appears seemingly out of the blue!
What to Write
So what do I say in those emails? Well, I’m funny and a good storyteller so there’s always that as a pick-me-up! But more often it’s an email that makes sure I remember the struggle, my resilience or not (instead sharing my I-just-got-through-it-but-here-we-are-on-the-other-side story), and, of course, the joy that was found in the year. I write about student breakthroughs or no breakthroughs but still making it through. I write about that really great lesson that was a hit. Or that time a few of them turned their cameras on to participate in discussion. I write all kinds of things! I know that November and February are hard so I schedule emails that recap some of the highlights and/or what I want to remember to keep me going at those particular times.
Teacher Tip for Self Reflection Beyond the Pep Talk
I also use the future-me letters as part of my lesson planning. I know that I teach A Raisin in the Sun in early January so I set an email to myself for things I want to remember for the unit – a great idea or what really worked or a link to resources that I definitely want to use again or as a new component. Sure I can write those as notes somewhere in a unit plan but in the shuffle it’s not always likely I’ll see it in time to add it in and then I’ll kick myself when I find the note or the long-buried email from my inbox at the end of February after the unit wraps. Instead, the email that pops up a few days before I start the unit is even more helpful in its timeliness and its reminder of past-me!
Voila my teacher tip for self-reflection that can work at any time of year! And you’ll be oh-so-glad when the email pops into your inbox!
NOTE: This was first published on June 15, 2021 on www.elamatters.com a collaborative blog project of which I’m a contributor. Check it out for more info from a whole host of middle and high school teachers.
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