The Moon - Navigating Through Uncertainty

There are many associations for the Moon card: illusion, deception, uncertainty, intuition, unconsciousness, etc. When I look at this card, I think of trying to navigate in the dark with limited light. In times when I have had to walk in darkness with just a flashlight, I felt anxious yet excited because I really had to rely on all of my senses including my intuition, so I wouldn't get hurt. That's not to say I didn't stumble from time to time, but overall I was able to navigate. Just not as easily as in daylight, obviously.

When it comes to teaching, the same analogy applies. This card represents needing to rely on all of your senses in order to navigate through the uncertainty of teaching. Yes, we can make a plan and be super organized and write lessons and design assessments, but you will still never feel 100% certain about what you are doing. Sometimes it will still feel like you are feeling your way in the darkness.

This card comes up when we do not have all the facts. We can do our best to teach based on what we learned in school and based on our teaching experience, but every year we have different kids with different needs and there will always be different mandates to meet. So ultimately, you need to rely on your intuition if you want to be successful. You know what just "feels" right.

For example, last week I planned a lesson for the beginning of my Lord of the Flies unit. It was intended to increase student interest in starting the book as well to get them thinking about how societies are formed. I had them choose which would be their top priority if they were stranded on an island: building shelter, hunting for food, or starting a signal fire (all three things discussed in the book). After they chose, I put them in groups based on their choices. Then I gave them two instructions: choose a leader and come up with rules for their society. As they did this, I circulated the room and took observational notes. Then we came together as a class to discuss the process. They talked about what went well and what challenges they faced. It went fine, but I felt like something was missing...

So for the next class, I started the same way but this time I had one group at a time do the activity in the middle of the classroom, while the other students sat in a circle around them taking observational notes with me. This worked out a lot better, because they all had the opportunity to observe the process of other students and to analyze that process. Sometimes it is easier to analyze another group because you feel more subjective when talking about your own process. I was worried that if they watched each other that it would get boring or repetitive. It didn't. The groups were so different - some were large, some were small, some had mostly boys, others mostly girls. It all made a difference and we were all able to discuss how those differences affected their ability to create their societies.

I feel the Moon card is a great card to think about when it comes to changing your lessons on the fly. You can plan all you want, but sometimes after you see it in practice you come up with an even better idea.

If this has ever happened to you, I would love to hear it!

All my best,

Amy