Our work is hard, and it is harder some days than others. It is harder some years than others. The best schools I have ever been to are comprised of staff who lift each other up, who make our hard work a joy (most days), and who are there for each other always. Have you ever approached a colleague feeling … Read More
Dear Desk, It’s Not You, It’s Me: Promoting Student Agency
In This Post: After removing a desk from our learning space, my students reacted with excitement. My realization was that I was too focused on how I saw things, and not on how THEY see them. This lead to 5 pedagogical shifts to promote student agency. In a lonely corner of an elementary classroom stood an oversized wooden desk. Its … Read More
4 Strategies to Help Anxious Students Prepare for a Summer without Routine
In This Post: For our most anxious students summer break doesn’t come with the degree of excitement educators might expect. Summer break can be a time of uncertainty, fear, and less regimented time; all triggers of anxiety. Encouraging journaling, offering manipulatives, introducing students to volunteerism, and allowing them to move, are just a few ways we can help our students … Read More
Setting the Bar – 3 Tips to Help Our Students Meet and Exceed Our Expectations
In This Post: Everyone is happy when those expectations are met and we LOVE it when our students exceed our expectations! If we are working daily to offer our students opportunities to meet these expectations the vast majority will, at a minimum, meet them. By setting the bar high, being consistent, and offering our students feedback on their progress, we … Read More
30 Things I Learned [About Teaching] Before Turning 30
If Taylor Swift did it, why can’t I? Turning 30 is weird for me, mainly because everyone says it’s great, but I loved my 20s SO much that it’s hard to imagine better! It’s the time I got my dream job…and in that same decade have been referred to as a veteran teacher. I’ve worked with many students in so … Read More