Damn you, polish!

Over the summer break I planned, read books and articles for research, learned how to use Twitter and other tools, planned some more, researched some more, discussed it lots and then went back to work and got slam-diddly-ammed, culminating in last night's parent information evening. Nothing like the beginning of the school year to smack you right back into reality.
After all my excitement and the thought and planning I put into my presentation for parents last night, I really don't feel great about how it went. There is a combination of factors that contributed to it, not all of them within my control. 

But, focusing on what I CAN control, it really is all about the polish:
Next time I will get enough sleep in the week before, do a proper dress-rehearsal (running through what you will say in your head doesn't work, even if you do it several times over), spend more time trying to second-guess the kinds of questions parents might ask (brainstorming session, anyone?). This last one is a little bit like fortune-telling, of course, but the longer I'm the business the better I will get at it, I hope.

To be completely honest, I am just really glad it's over so I can focus on teaching and learning now. The preparation was exhausting and stressful and the hour of presentation and discussion was possibly the hardest work I've ever done. I am glad that I took the risk in trying a new format and I know that I achieved my aim to help parents get a better understanding of how learning happens in my classroom. I hope that they left feeling positive about the work I do with their kids.

Hopefully they're more interested in that than the polish.