Crafting a Good Good-bye
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Humans have an innate need to mark transitions. We have customs around weddings, memorial services, graduation, and birth. However, due to sheer exhaustion or a sense of relief that the school year has ended, many educators miss the mark in saying a “good good-bye” to the closing school year, which robs us of a meaningful ending to this significant annual transition.
A recent webinar, “Compassionate Closings to the 2021-22 School Year,” hosted by Bright Morning, suggests that a compassionate closure possesses these characteristics:
Inspires reflection
Invites closure
Centers relationships
Prioritizes learning, growth, and connection
(Aguilar, E. & Cohen, L., 2022).
Consider creating a year-end ceremony using this framework:
Name an intention to recognize the closing of the school year and perhaps share a poem, quote, song, etc.
Invite reflecting on and naming the year’s joys or celebrations.
Invite reflecting on and naming the year’s challenges.
State appreciation for those who provided support during both joys and challenges.
Close by inviting sharing of what will be carried forward and hopes/dreams for the future.
If possible, provide something tangible and symbolic, e.g., each person drops a small stone into a bowl of water to symbolize the ripple effect we have on one another.
This framework can be used to create a personal closing ceremony or a public one with students and/or colleagues.
Today is the final TXTS4 Teachers for this school year. TXTS4 Teachers was launched in 2015 with the mission to provide real-time, bite-sized professional learning. Multiple authors have taken joy in sharing the most up-to-date educational research and resources. We wish you a “good good-bye” to this school year and a summer full of rejuvenation.
Aguilar, E., & Cohen, L. (2022). The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.