The following is a copy of an email sent to my subscribers. This is an archive, so it's possible some links are missing or expired. If you want strategies and ideas sent straight to your inbox, you can get on the list here.
<[email protected]> to you
Subject: 🏔️ The view I almost missed
Solutions for your Sunday Scaries
A few weeks ago, some friends invited me to boot pack up to the peak of our ski mountain.
For context: I’m a snowboarder. A comfortable, in-bounds, chairlift-to-the-top kind of snowboarder. So when they said “we’re going out of bounds, just a boot pack up,” I had to ask a lot of questions before I could decide if I was up for it. Like how hard is this hike, and am I going to hate it?
I could have said no. Part of me wanted to. But something else was craving more for myself.
So I went.
My friends didn’t push me. They didn’t hype me up or check in every five minutes to make sure I was okay. They just went slow.
When they told me we were only a few steps away from the top, I realized that I was actually fine. My legs were stronger than I’d given them credit for, and the voice telling me to turn back was louder than the actual difficulty of the climb.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately in the “be gentle with yourself” mindset. And I believe in it. Rest is real. Limits are real.
But I think I’d quietly started using gentleness as a reason to opt out of things I actually wanted (and I was capable of) because the fear of struggling felt like a signal to stop.
What got me up that mountain wasn’t someone telling me I could do it. It was someone simply making space for me to find out.
I think about that a lot in the context of the classroom. Your students aren’t always lacking ability. They’re lacking someone who slows down, stays close, and makes it feel safe enough to try.
You probably already do this without thinking about it. The question is whether anyone’s doing it for you.
See you at the peak, friend!
Did a friend forward your email? You can also join the community here.
Hi, my name is Daina!
I’m the face behind Mondays Made Easy, and I design modern educational resources for dedicated English Language Arts teachers.
Latest Emails
