Mindful Monday: Progress

With state testing starting this week, one main thought comes to mind. Will the results show the progress our students have made this year? Will all their hard work show up on this one test on this one day? 

We have a love-hate relationship with progress. We love the feel of it, but on the flip side, progress takes time, effort, hard work, and often more time. It can be absolutely frustrating to look up to check your progress only to realize that you're not as far along as you would have liked to be. 

Here's where I think we go astray. Our vision of what we think progress should look like is entirely skewed! We think if we work hard, and want it badly enough, that after some time, we should be where we were aiming for. But the thing is, progress absolutely does not happen in a straight line. It is not simply a path from Point A to Point B. 

The same goes for our students. We have to stop thinking of their path to success as linear. Each of our students come to us with such different starting points; therefore, their version of success looks just as unique. 

Sometimes progress is slow. Sometimes progress requires us to take some steps backwards first. And then there are many times where failure is a part of the process. Sometimes there are paths we can follow to get to our desired destination, and other times, it's a complete jungle and no path exists. 

Progress looks absolutely different in every situation and to every individual. Even when we think the circumstances are similar, comparing your current progress to the progress of the teacher down the hall or to the student at the next table is pointless. Afterall, "Comparison is the thief of joy." -Theodore Roosevelt.  

At the end of the day, the Webster dictionary defines progress as: forward or onward movement toward a destination. Progress is not about winning. It's not about reaching the peak. It's not about being the best. It is about forward movement. 

So, regardless of what this one test taken on this one day shows, I absolutely know that our students have made progress. I know they have made forward movement. And I know it is thanks to you!