Enjoy Summer Break!

Designers, we made it to the last few days of school!

Hope each of you have a FUN, SAFE, RELAXING summer. Sleep in. Lounge by the pool. Spend quality time with loved ones. Pick up a new hobby. Go to the beach. Watch Netflix. (I have tons of great recommendations) Read books (tons of recs for that, too!) Embrace the freedom of this break, but save a little time for healthy reflection.

Here are 10 summer reflections for designers. Try one, two, or a few of these, and see if they get you thinking about your craft as a designer at Lee!

1. Write alternating paragraphs about the best and worst teachers you had as a student. Then, identify when and why you’ve shared any qualities with them during your time in the classroom.

2. Vent about one of your worst days during the past year. Fold it up, throw it away, and forget about it.

3. List three times that you’ve experienced joy as a teacher. Be specific about the setting, the situation, the people involved. What can you do to capture that feeling again?

4. Write about a designer on campus that you look up to. What do they do that inspires you? What could you try next year that they do?

5. What is one stereotype about teachers that is a lie? What is one stereotype that is absolutely accurate?

6. Why do you teach? Why don’t you do something else?

7. One of your most wonderful, compassionate students tells you that she wants to be a teacher. What do you say? What do you think?

8. Write a letter to a student you’ve failed—not in terms of a grade, but as a mentor.

9. Write a two-sentence description of your class from the perspective of a student sitting front and center. Then write descriptions of the same length from the following perspectives: the student who wouldn't stop talking, the student who was always so quiet, and from the learner that looks up to you the most. How do they each perceive you?

10. Praise yourself. Write a paragraph about what you do best as a teacher.

After that, enjoy the rest of your summer. You’ve earned it.