What can we do instead of counting down the days until the end and be energized for our students and for us?

I was a community organizer for nineteen years prior to becoming a teacher eleven years ago. Here are a few ideas that are modified versions of what organizers are often urged to do when they are feeling “burned-out”:

Work Fewer Hours: By this time of the year, “throwing time” at school doesn’t pay dividends. Cutting back on outrageous work hours per week can often result in feeling more energized in the classroom.

Unfortunately, all too often we teachers talk about motivation as something we have to do to students instead of helping them identify ways they can motivate themselves. 

Photo by Victoria Boobyer provided courtesy of ELTPics

Assessing our English Language Learner students can be a minefield, especially in the face of potential outside-of-class pressures from administrators, school and district mandates and, in some cases, parent pressure.
What assessment practices can we use that might be relatively objective and useful to everyone?

Using a "Three-Two-One" Speaking Activity