TL;DR: This post focuses on learning our own lessons as educators. We can inspire ourselves with the things we teach our students. We can learn our own lessons by realizing we are a community, knowing we all have a voice and matter, having integrity, always doing our best, and knowing we are better together. Learning Our Own Lessons: Inspiring Ourselves … Read More
Living with OCD: It Doesn’t Just Go Away
TL;DR: Different facets of living with OCD are shared, including time management, losing control, and needing to be a perfectionist. Kristen shares how living with OCD affects her as an educator. When we look at other people, we do not know what internal struggles they are facing. There is no telling how people feel just by looking at them. Many … Read More
Edujargon
TL;DR: Some examples of edujargon include backwards design, common formative assessment, data walls, essential questions, personalized learning, scaffolding, social emotional learning, whole child, and more. Buzzwords or edujargon can support a school’s continuous improvement plan, but there must be consistent implementation. This post includes six questions to help educators avoid the edujargon trap. Faculty meetings, principal newsletters, conversations with colleagues, … Read More
LEAD with HOPE: O is for Optimism
TL;DR: People with a fixed mindset do not believe qualities can be changed while those with a growth mindset believe qualities can be developed and strengthened through hard work. Having a growth mindset leads to hope and optimism which helps overcome obstacles. A story is shared about a student who was a troubled teen but turned her life around with … Read More
The Time is NOW for the Second Question
TL;DR: The first thing you ask someone is as important as the second. Following up the first question with a second deepens relationships and shifts our attention OUTWARD to serving, supporting, and connecting. I was more than a little intrigued when host Martin Silverman invited me to check out his podcast, “The Second Question.” (Now THAT’s a GREAT title, Martin!) … Read More