Do You See a Shadow?

Sunday is Groundhog Day.  So, when the groundhog, named Phil,  arises in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and gets ready for church he will take that step outside of his cozy little burrow and predict the remaining length of winter depending upon the amount of sunshine that may or may not cause his own shadow to fall.  Who thinks this stuff up?  In Punxsutawney, they have been holding this ritual since 1886.  Crowds have been over 40,000…a nickel says there is alcohol involved.  This is so popular that a movie, Groundhog Day, was centered on this celebration.  Bill Murray stars as Phil (gee, how clever) the weatherman for a local affiliate and is sent to cover the event.  In short, he is not a believer in the chubby rodent.  Low and behold, Phil is sentenced to repeat the same day over and over and over again. He meets the same people, wakes up in the same spot, listens to the same radio show, endures the same crummy shower, and a host of other fairly lame stuff.  That is, until he changes his ways for the positive, gets the girl and lives happily ever after; never having looked at his shadow.

Sometimes our profession can feel a little like Groundhog Day.  Do some days just seem to repeat themselves?  Do you ever feel like you just left here when you are again walking in the doors.  Einstein once said that “Insanity was doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”  That is insane. Take a good look at the variety of strategies and activities  that you utilize in your classroom. Is every day the same…Bueller?…Bueller?…or is every day freshand exciting?  Do you engage the kids right from the get-go? Are they breathless with anticipation?  To be clear, it is good practice to have established routines for your students to follow; what they do upon entering the classroom and beginning the lesson, where they place their homework, where they line up for a fire drill, etc. But, what about the meat of your lessons?  Do you keep them thirsting for more or do they dread coming to class for another day?  Is every day Groundhog Day or is it February 3^rd, then the 4^th, and the 5^th…Change it up, keep it challenging yet lively. One of my dreams is to have to stop kids from running in the hall because they cannot wait to get to your class.  Who will be the first to make that dream come true? It doesn’t matter if I see your shadow or not.

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Super Bowl Sunday…again, my team is not in the mix.  My only hope is that Peyton Manning absolutely lights up #25 of the Sea Hawks so that his mouth will actually close.