All You Need is Less

While shopping before Christmas, I noticed a sign in a store: All You Need is Less. How true. Our lives seem to be so filled with stuff. And sometimes I wonder if all that stuff gets in the way of what’s important.

I was thinking about this in terms of our classrooms, too. Sometimes we try to do it all. When it comes down to it though, we should focus on the essentials and do them well. Right now, one of those essentials (always really, but especially now) is the mental and emotional wellbeing of ourselves and our students.

Tomorrow, Alberta teachers return to the classrooms with their students. There is a lot of emotion surrounding this reality given the fifth wave of the pandemic: excitement, apprehension, anxiety, uncertainty, among others I’m sure.

Take the time tomorrow to freewrite with your students. Use the simple prompt, “Today I feel…” As always, students have the choice to share all, some, or none of their writing, as do you. If the writing leads to a discussion, wonderful. If the writing remains a private coping strategy, that’s okay too. Remember Anne Frank’s words: “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”

Take time for what matters. All you need is less.