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TXTS 4 Teachers

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.