First, Happy New Year! As I’ve posted else where, what I wish for you is friendship, joy, and peace for the upcoming year!

Now, with this hashtag, I don’t have to scribble out #SOL18 and rewrite 19 over top, like I’ll do with most of my checks in January.

#getwiththeprogram

As we’ve entered 2019, everyone’s talking about resolutions, their “one little word” (next Tuesday), how they’ll be better people, better teachers, better parents, better at blah blah blah.

#hogwash

Me, I just want to be consistent in life.

I want consistency with my relationship with my wife. Empty nesting is not for the faint of heart, and we’ve had our ups and down. Both being teachers, it’s hard, at times, to focus on us when we are focusing on 6th graders and transitional kindergarten students. And before we trot out the “oh you need to separate work and home”, show me a teacher who doesn’t bring work home and I’ll show you very small list who can truly make that work. We work a lot of hours in the same room, each doing on own thing and need to create that “our thing” together. Not sure how that happens, but it’s a work in progress.

#teacherprobs

I want consistency my own learning. I got a Raspberry Pi for Christmas, but how can this be used in the classroom? I love Minecraft, but how could this be put into my classroom? Both of these require time for learning, planning, communicating with people in the know, just stuff in two days, I cannot do on a regular basis. I’d love, LOVE to see our professional development shift to more personalized kinds of things where I could dig into this further, see the applications of where those two pieces of technology fit with sixth graders or where they fit in our Leader in Me model, but it won’t happen, so it’s on my own, again.

#realpdforrealteachers

I want consistency in my exercise. This is more on me than the first two. I talk to my students about my own daughters and how they learned, yup, to get everything done they need get up earlier or stay up later. So, yup, I need to be on the treadmill, I need to cross train, and I need to watch what I eat.

#newyearsresolutionsanyone

I just need to find consistency, period.

Here’s the million dollar question: How?

Some ideas:

  • writing more things down. I have a notebook I started the school year using, and just recently found it in a bag, tucked away from sight. Ugh.
  • keep a better sleep schedule (earlier bedtime). My Fitbit tells me I average a little under six hours of sleep a night. That has to increase by at least 30 – 40 minutes, at minimum.
  • keep a better school schedule. I know my time will be pulled by an assortment of meetings. I have to do a better job of managing my prep, before, and after school minutes.
  • online calendar. My problem with online calendars, I’m getting more tied to my tech.
  • take a from my tech. Part of my problem is tech is a time waster for me. So much I COULD do, but don’t have to do. But then again, I want to work tech INTO my classroom (see above).

So, January 1st and the resolutions are flying around. The one resolution I’d make for myself: I resolve to be more consistent in my life.

If this come to pass, I will be one happy man! 🙂