Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

Bite-Size Advice for Teachers to Finish the Year Strong

By Larry Ferlazzo — April 17, 2023 2 min read
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Less than two months remain in the school year for most of us. (Here are lots of ideas about what we can do in our classes during this time.)

I asked educators on social media to share one sentence for us teachers to keep in mind, and maybe help energize us, during this remaining time:

You are the reason that someone looks forward to Monday mornings.
Enjoy your time, don't grudgingly count down the days...
Success comes in small steps forward.
Be the hope, the light, the pure joy and excitement the students see every time they enter your classroom.
Making the days count while counting down the days!
It’s ok to not do it all.
Enjoy spending time with your students.
Witnessing your senior students walk across the stage to receive their diplomas will remind you of the reason you became a teacher in the first place.
Look how far we’ve come!
You don't have to grade everything.
The end is in sight.
The hardest to love are the ones that need it the most. They’ll know you were the difference years from now. Teachers, tell yourself: 'I make a difference even when it doesn’t seem like it.'
Let’s remember that teaching other people’s children (Delpit) is about power and privilege, so let’s choose love.
Savor the time you have left with your students. Stay in the moment.
You are doing great!
Look how far they’ve come since September. We were part of their growth.
Don't wait until Summer to #reenergize instead 1) Relax, knowing the end of the school year is near, 2) Reflect on the progress, and 3) Celebrate the journey!
Your students will quickly grow beyond who they are today, so help them appreciate their power and how to use it for good.
Give yourself and your students grace as you wind up the school year...
Make lasting memories with your kids and don't forget to laugh.
Give yourself rest to maintain your brilliance and inspiration.
Put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others.
Look straight ahead and end the year strong as the FINISH LINE is in sight!
Take time to enjoy your students and the magic of the classroom instead of only pressing to the finish line.
When you're rounding third base, you keep going strong until you're home.

Thanks to everyone for contributing their thoughts!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign—new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 11 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.

I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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