Blessed

Every school year has its own rhythm. This year, however, has felt different. If you know, you know. Building connections with kids behinds masks, shields, and distancing, not to mention those kiddos online, has been complicated. If I’m honest, I would say there have been more days than not where I have come home defeated and not really sure I’m making a difference for this group of 4th graders. And then this week happened – teacher appreciation.

Above any gift, treat, or luncheon, these notes mean everything. I am beyond blessed with an amazing career, phenomenal colleagues, and superb students. I am so thankful for each kiddo and their families. They make every day worthwhile.❤️

Groovy

Today was a pretty good teacher day. Don’t you love those? Days where things go pretty well and the day rocks along without hiccups? My lessons went well. Kids seemed happy to be at school. Learning was happening. Life was good. That all. That’s the post. Today was groovy! 😍😊

Essential?

FINALLY someone has decided to put educators on the vaccine list. Does this mean now we are essential? 😂😂

Have a great night!

Texas Independence Day

Growing up, I wasn’t a big history buff. My dad is a HUGE history person, so I guess when I was younger I didn’t think it was cool enough. 🤷‍♀️ Now, I love learning more about the history of my state, along with the complicated people who made it what it is today. History is hard. For a long time, I made assumptions about nonfiction reading. I just thought that what I read was factual because it came from a textbook or historians. I still believe that people who have written historical texts have, for the most part, done what they felt was their best. I really don’t believe that these people set out to mislead. Unfortunately, the history we have been taught and have taught to kids about our great state hasn’t always been steeped in the true history of Texas-the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I am a learner by nature. I love immersing myself in new learning, and for a while now I have been trying to learn more about how history has been told by one group while omitting or glossing over the history of other groups. It is a journey I’m excited to be on and enjoy sharing some of what I learn with the students I serve. I believe that if we are to create a better world for our own kids, we have to learn how to have hard conversations about our shared history and take the lessons into how we can live as a better society.

So… Happy Texas Independence Day. I’m choosing to celebrate ALL the brave men and women of my state who have worked to make Texas better and the most amazing state ever!

Day 1 – Lessons

Never, ever did I imagine this time last year we would be gearing up for a full blown, life-altering pandemic. Now, a year down the road, I have learned a few things. Here’s a list of a few of those lessons learned since March, 2020.

1. It might be possible to watch all of Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV and any other streaming service out there.

2. Lounge sets are amazingly functional and comfy! 😉🙃

3. No matter how much I am positive I have stunk at moments as a teacher over this past year, the kids are super forgiving and just love having a community.

4. When you spend hours and hours…and hours with your family, you really miss them when everyone goes back to work and school.

5. Time spent with friends and family is precious and should be celebrated whenever possible.

Some may say I am out of my mind, but there are moments that I miss quarantine and the time that was spent loving on my people.

Sincerely,

Tara Reed

One Little Word 2021

For the last few years, I have started thinking about my word commitment a few days before the new year. This year, I had a lot of ways I wanted to go and thought really hard about how best to merge those ideas into one word that could help me focus for the year. It wasn’t so easy… I read other blogs, looked at lists online, reflected on words from the past. With every turn, I kept coming back to the same thought….there are so many areas of my life I want to improve. Aha! Improve.

That’s it! That’s the word. I want to improve, enhance in quality, use to good purpose, make progress. Yes! One way to improve is to be accountable, and one way to stay accountable is to come here and talk about my progress and struggles. Here are the areas I hope to improve and be able to discuss.

1. Family. I know. Everyone always says they want to be a better spouse, parent, daughter, etc., and that is part of what I’m talking about. I owe it to my family to be better. I have become super complacent. When I reflect on my place within my family, I know that I am the glue that keeps this thing going. I’m honored to be that for my people. However, I have been on autopilot for a while. I want to be a more loving wife to Scotty and show him how much I value him as a partner. I want to do better at guiding my kids in the right way. There is a lot coming up for the Reeds this spring. I know Tripp will make a wonderful husband to Kayla, but I want to help him navigate this new role as much as I can. Bre is reaching the end of her college career (academically and athletically). How can I show her how best to be a woman who values having a career, but also values more highly creating and nurturing a family? Brody is in the throws of middle school, and there are days that I tap out. I just don’t know how to help him navigate the ups and downs of adolescence sometimes, so I withdraw. Ouch. My parents have moved closer, and because of stupid COVID we haven’t been able to spend much time together yet. I will do better in that regard as soon as I am able. My sister and her precious family needs to be more of a priority for me. I LOVE spending time with them and want to do that more often. I want to improve as a member of this family!
2. Health. I suck at taking care of my health. I am committing to learning more about how to do that. I know this will be especially hard for me because I have never given it much thought. Wish me luck on this one!!
3. Friendships. There are lots of people in my life that I appreciate for what they bring to my life. I hope to celebrate them more fully and spend more time in conversation with them. I want to show them how grateful I am to have them!!
4. Professionally. Whew. This is a big one. With a year that has proven some days to be more than I can bear and other days to be such a positive part of my life, it’s hard to nail down specifically what my vision is for how to improve here. I know I need to do better, show up more, try and stay positive, and contribute. More will come on this one as I go along. I know.

Wowzer. That is certainly a lot and big list. Will I fail some days? Yep. But, I hope that I will at least see progress in small ways. After all, isn’t that what Miriam-Webster says? to show progress? Pray for me and wish me luck!

Weekends During Quarantine

Something feels familiar about weekends during a quarantine. The weekdays are much harder to manage, I think. Those days are supposed to be full of school, learning, collaboration, and working face to face with my school family. But weekends are always different. The familiar of waking up on Saturday morning and grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting in the quiet for a while is comforting (even though I’ve been doing that most mornings for a month now). It’s how it is supposed to be. Finding things to entertain our family isn’t unusual. Not everyone in my house is good with idleness. It is a challenge to keep everyone engaged. So looking for ways to keep busy on a Saturday is nothing new. It is also comforting. It’s the weekdays that are hard. They seem to sometimes stretch on to eternity. They are uncertain days and they are not comforting. I think that in this time of uncertainty, I am thankful for the sameness of Saturdays.

Day 5

Watching the government update and trying to reconcile these HUGE issues effecting our nation with the pure JOY I witnessed yesterday when Cheryl and I met with our kiddos through a Zoom meeting. I know everyone is spinning and struggling, but the responsibility I feel to help keep my school family in a positive place while struggling to stay positive from a personal perspective is a little overwhelming if I’m honest. Just keep me and all my colleagues in your prayers as we work to help uplift our students and families and maintain some positivity.

Sincerely,

Tara Reed

Day 3

Best part of the day? A long time former student emailing me to make sure I’m ok. It’s crazy how much these relationships matter. They matter to kids and they matter to teachers. I think right now it is really important to remember that while the academic piece is important for sure, the connections among our learning communities hold a kind of power that can change the world. Take care of yourself and check on your community. Everyone needs to feel seen right now.

Sincerely,

Tara Reed

Day 2

Day 2 of school closure. Tomorrow starts online learning. I’m beginning to think I’m one of the few who is excited about kids getting to apply what they’ve learned without any worries like STAAR hanging overhead. I hope this will be a positive learning journey for kids.