TL;DR: Having a professional network and people to connect with is valuable. Even though reaching out can be difficult for some, find ways to connect to people in your school. Make connections with other professionals outside of school, even non-educators. Let’s just be real here for a moment. Having friends definitely makes work —and life, for that matter— better. We … Read More
Choosing Not to Look Back
TL;DR: Looking back at the past can change who we are. Hope was the one word chosen for 2022—a message of hope that we can connect with each other. I know that I am not alone when I say good riddance to 2021. This past year and a half, the country was torn apart, other perspectives were not accepted, the … Read More
School Climate and Culture Affect Relationships
TL;DR: A school’s culture impacts its climate. Demonstrate pride in your school. Focus on relationships and modeling positive behavior for students and other staff members. Culture Impacts Climate The terms “culture” and “climate” are used interchangeably. But if you are in education, you know that these terms are more than just words. They are values that affect students, staff, and … Read More
Light Up the Holidays with Teaching
TL;DR: Lesson planning in advance can be a way to express your creative side by collaborating and researching. Setting up holiday lights has many parallels to teaching and lesson planning. Students should be part of the design. With the holidays just around the corner, it brings out the spirit in most people. The fall season brings out the candles (yes, … Read More
Mental Health: We Are the First Line of Defense
TL;DR: COVID impacted our students in different ways. Find ways in the classroom to be authentic when it comes to supporting students’ social-emotional learning. We’ve all heard it. Within the last two years, educators have been focusing on the health of the social-emotional learner. In a previous blog, I wrote about the SEL of an educator. In order to be … Read More