Find Secondary English Teaching Resources

My Word of the Year: Protect

Professional Development and Inspiration

For the past few years, I have participated in the choosing a word to orient my year. While some words have been more successful guides than others, each one has provided a framework and organization. Here are my words from past years:

2019: Gratitude
2020: Sustainable
2021: Sustain
2022: Water

In 2023, my word of the year is protect. Today, I want to share with you why I’ve chosen this word.

Confetti appears under text that reads: My Word of the Year: Protect

Why Protect is My Word of the Year

We have several new teachers in my department, so I have spent a lot of time this year focused on their needs. I have thought a lot about what advice I would give to them.

Over and over again, I have heard myself saying and thinking, “It’s important to protect the habit.” In the context of school and teaching, I’m usually talking about protecting classroom habits. This includes classroom procedures and bell work.

In my personal life, the habits I want to protect include exercising, sleeping, and organizing. As I have worked on my doctorate, I have worked hard to maintain study habits as well. In the coming year, I hope to protect those habits.

Additionally, I hope to protect my boundaries. As a new teacher, I was willing to give myself to teaching. However, I have learned that teachers are not candles or martyrs. It is essential to protect the balance between my professional and personal life. To do this, I have taken my school email off my phone, chosen a time after which I do not check school email, and I rarely bring home grading.

Because of the teacher shortage, I have spent more time subbing this year, which has made it more challenging to accomplish lesson planning. As a result, I sometimes feel pulled to plan or grade at home. However, in 2023, I want to protect my personal life.

To invite students into the reflective process of choosing a word of the year, I have put together 132 coloring pages so students can choose their own words of the year!