"Not all those who wander are lost" - Tolkein
As a teacher, you know that moment when you are in the flow. Lessons are moving along, you know so much about your students, you are making adjustments on the fly, and everything feels right. You only know this feeling after teaching a few years. You expect to be clunky or rusty at the start of the school year, but after a few weeks, things are great. Sometimes teachers start in a slump and I'm no different.
I know I'm not alone. There are many teachers out there that seem to be in the same place, but are too afraid to admit that they are not in stride yet. I want to remind those people that teachers are not robots and we have off days or even weeks. As I have thought about writing this post for a few days. the quote from The Lord of the Rings trilogy stood out to me. I felt lost, but was I?
There are so many external factors that can influence any teacher in the classroom, it crazy to think that a slump will never happen. It is how you deal with that slump that is key. I think of athletes who enter slumps and they will do 1 of 2 things.
1. Change everything they are doing to get of the slump.
2. Be patient and trust in their skills to bring them back to form.
My knee jerk reaction is to change everything and get going, but I think trusting my skills is the better way to go and that is the advice I have for all of you. Trust in the skills that got you here and reach for support as needed. We are not lost, we are just taking an extended detour to our destination. I like to go with what Gandalf said,
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisly when he means to." - Tolkien
Safe travels friends!
