Time for reading: 4 minutes
Start with high hopes
Going into the 2020/2021 school year, I had such high hopes. Coming off the summer holiday, I managed to travel a bit in Italy, recharge my batteries, and was excited for the coming year. Now, after a year of mainly teaching virtually, I want to take some time to reflect on this last year. Not only about the students but my own self-reflection as well.
Year full of technologies
This year I saw my students learn and grow throughout the year. They showed improvement in the use of technology, study skills, and problem-solving skills. Myself as a teacher was forced to think outside of the box and challenge myself to provide engaging lessons while still covering essential material to students who visibly suffered from screen fatigue.
After spending countless hours attending classes online, helping the students build relationships and community was of high importance upon our return to school. The students needed to know that they were being heard and that we had realistic expectations of them. Honestly, quite a few of them thought that we would try to cram in 10 months of study into the last month and a half. After assuring them this wasn’t the case, we set realistic goals for the students to achieve. These realistic achievements were one of the many reasons why I feel this school year ended so successfully.
Year of changes
This year I also saw a group of students that I have had the joy of teaching over the last four years complete their studies and move on from their time at Magic Hill. I have to say I couldn’t be any prouder of the individuals they have become. Their future is truly in their hands, and as one of their teachers, I strongly feel that they are prepared to go out into the world and continue their education.
This inspired me to take stock in my own education as well. So much is changing in the teaching world, and it is important to be on top of new methodologies and practices. As teachers, we work on ourselves by continuing our education. Still, often as an English teacher, access to quality workshops is limited. So, this year after taking a 20-hour course I felt the need to broaden my horizons and decided to return to university to pursue another degree in the Czech Republic at Masaryk University which offers English based programs in the education faculty.
I will be the first to admit sometimes when encountering new methods, I am sceptical. The old saying of “If it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it”, no longer holds true in the modern world. Everything around us in constant change, and we can no longer stand back and just be creatures of habit. The progression into project-based, 21st Century, and Soft-skills based learning isn’t always an easy change to make, but it is worth it. During the past few years, I have embraced the change and have really seen the benefits with student’s learning and in my teaching.
Going forward and in the future, I am excited for what I hope is many years to come at Magic Hill. It is motivating to see all the things on the horizon that we set out as teachers to accomplish. So many new things from building community with students to our new laboratories, gained experiences, continued cooperation, and deeper learning. I can’t wait to experience all of this “new” with my colleagues and future students.
See you next school year!
