2026 Goals and Setting New PRs

I am sitting here in my classroom after a nice—albeit way too fast— break. I am grateful for the time off to disconnect a bit and find steady ground. The first 4 months of the school year have certainly been unstable. New job, teacher strike, missed time with students, government removing our rights, trying to reset after the massive disruption. All of it has contributed to a bit of whiplash. All that said I am excited to be back. I am excited to work on new ideas and renew a dedication to not only students reading but reading myself.

The world is pretty chaotic right now and thinking about grounding myself in books, be it audio or printed text, is something I am looking forward to. I resumed listening to One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. It is a pretty powerful read that I think many in the communities I live and work in would struggle with, but an important read none the less.

I spent some of my break reading students' critical submissions on a chosen novel. They could choose from The Crucible or Night. Both shorter texts, but they do a lot to address issues we are still seeing in the world today. It is interesting to watch as students make connections to the world around them in these stories that are 70 years old. Sometimes I have to remind kids that we still study Shakespeare because his stories are still reflected in the themes of today's stories. As students read Night, they not only commented on the horrors he recounts but also made connections to ongoing conflicts of today. As they worked through The Crucible, they related it to multiple points in our ongoing history.

Sometimes I forget the power of literature when it provides a window, as Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop coined. I want to get back to sitting in the sun with the windows open while I lose myself in a good book. It has been a long time since I have found the time to do that.

I am going to start with the goal to read a book a month. Go from there.

Additionally, I plan to bench 405 soon... stay tuned lol