Hi Member,

A few weeks ago I assigned my seniors their final exam: each of them would deliver a commencement address. Even though most of them were counting down the days to graduation, they looked confused. “What’s a commencement address?” they asked. “You know, commencing, carrying on, moving onto even more important stuff.” They looked at me with blank stares. I finally said, “A graduation speech.”

Their initial puzzlement got me thinking about the difference between graduation and commencement; two words we use interchangeably. But they mark the difference between finishing and beginning, accomplishing and launching, culminating and initiating. Perhaps the same difference defines this time of year for us, too. Because even as we prepare to finish this year, we’ve already begun thinking about the possibilities of the next one. Some think a teacher’s summer is about a “break,” but we know our collective summers of reflecting, learning, growing, and nurturing are only just about to commence.

My Tch colleague Erika Nielsen Andrew has written an inspiring blog post to help us rethink what these important milestones mean to students and teachers. Enjoy!

Teacher Laureate at Teaching Channel