Squirrel-Thoughts

My thoughts are all over the place like little squirrels this morning. I've had to stop and draw a tree-chart to keep my focus. At the root of my tree is self-care; the trunk is family, and above that up in the branches are work, doctoral studies, personal interests/creativity, animal care/responsibilities, household responsibilities, and financial responsibilities. At the moment, I need to stay on the work branch: reports are due, meetings are coming up, calls must be made, grades need adjusting, and classes must be planned.

Just the same, the poet in me likes the image of a squirrel-thought and just wants to pack up all the work-nuts and run around the yard and play.

The wonderful image below from https://squirrelcircus.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/random-mind-clutter/, shows how our minds are cluttered with different kinds of "things." I don't see "Things I Should Be Doing" on the illustration ... but I'm sure that fits in one of the existing categories, such as "Things I am Determined to Remember."

In front of me now is one of the dreaded reports I've put off, and you know, it doesn't look like much to frighten a person... it involves assessing the performance of my students in specific ways on specific tasks in different classes from last semester. It's a simple template; all I have to do is fill in some results (percentages) and then explain how I will use the data to better prepare for next semester. The whole idea is to grow as a teacher and to explore ways to improve student understanding and practice of particular concepts --- all while their squirrel-thoughts are leading them elsewhere.

For example, one of the assessments is for a semi-formal report in which students will "demonstrate their ability to properly organize an executive summary by including an abstract, body, and conclusion." 80% of students in the class should (ideally) be able to do that by the end of the semester. Sadly, only five of eleven students (45%) in that class even submitted the report --- and one of those received a D, so we're looking at 36% results. The numbers look bad, and I don't feel happy about it, obviously; on the other hand, I'm not sure that it has much to do with me. Funny, cute, swinging squirrels interfered.

I think I'm coming around to the main point in this blog post, which is that a lot of distractions are calling to us. We have to choose what to give our attention to. This is not a choice that I can make for my students; however, it is a choice I can make for myself.

What kinds of squirrel-thoughts do you have in the attic of your mind, panicked and trying to get out? Is your attention (think "dog") chasing those squirrels? Should he or she take a break and gnaw lazily, carefully, joyfully on one bone?

Why not draw your own tree chart and make those squirrels march in unison to the branch you really want or need to focus on?