There are very few days remaining. The end is in sight, and everyone is struggling to show up meaningfully.
It’s the annual May gray, the time of year when a heavy fog surrounds even the best of educators. It feels like we have reached our max. Decision fatigue has set in, and we see diminished returns each day until it’s finally the last day.
While I think everyone has experienced it, there are some strategies you can employ to get through it.
Recognize the plateau. The school year is a marathon, and you are at mile 20. While you still have six miles to go, you don’t feel like you can make it. You’ve plateaued, but you can get through it. This isn’t just laziness, and if you can find some of that September or January energy to break through, you can survive until the end. While you don’t need to sprint until the end of the year, you need to find one action to commit to that brings some of that September energy back. Make it a daily read aloud that students enjoy or a problem solving summit that you participate in alongside students. Whatever brings you joy and helps you to muster the energy to survive helps.
Start with the Minimum Viable Day (MVD). What are the basics that need to happen for you and your students to survive today? Think about physical and emotional safety first. Is the room under control? Are you and students safe, and is everyone being treated respectfully? This should be your starting point. Add on from here. What else can I minimally add to help students learn? Even if you move forward slightly with the most pressing project that students are working on, then you have made success. It does not need to be the most viable day. You just need to make progress.
Make Real World Connections. Intense direct instruction is painful for both the teacher and students at this time of year. Implement a low-stakes project that connects students to the real world, and ensures that they are practicing everything they’ve learned this year. Have students design a survival guide for next year’s students. It could be a grade level specific guide or tie directly to content. Students love designing and creating for their younger peers. Students do the heavy lifting while you assume the facilitator role.
Empty the Parking Lot. Start with an empty grid on your whiteboard, and give students the chance to list a confusing concept or a question that they still have about the year’s content. Have them fill the grid with those questions. It could also be a lesson/objective that they particularly enjoyed if they don’t have any questions. Then have students collaboratively answer the questions or share related to each of the questions or objectives. This is a great way to review important concepts for the year, and involves little prep on your end.
Be Kind to Monday Morning You. The Sunday Scaries hit heavy at the end of the year. You don’t need to worry over the weekend about all the things you didn’t do to prepare for next week. Leave yourself zero work on Monday morning by having everything ready before you leave for the end of the day on Friday. A few extra minutes spent on Friday afternoon sets you up for success on Monday, and leaves your weekend worry-free.
Remember that the May Gray is a season just like any other part of the school year. Give yourself permission to make it easier. Use these strategies, lower the bar on logistics, and make sure you survive until the end.
Rich
