Linda Markley

The Cultural Iceberg in the Classroom

calling to make a difference, creating community, cultural iceberg, diversity, Essential questions, inclusion, Introspection, Learning Lessons, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Podcasting, professional development, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Strategies, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher hero, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

As you know, I host a podcast called Teacher Tales as part of my mission of the Spirit of Teaching to elevate teachers, the profession and raise awareness of what is truly at the heart of teaching.

Recently, I had the great pleasure of having as my guest on the podcast, an educator from Mississippi who is originally from Mexico, but who came to this country over 30 years ago to become a teacher.

Our conversation was amazing, insightful and inspiring (as are all of my conversations with teachers when they share their stories!)

You can listen to Edgar’s story here.

After hearing Edgar’s story, I started thinking about the diversity we have in our country that also can be found in our classrooms.

I started thinking about the immigrant stories that have shaped our country, our language and our cultural products, practices and perspectives.

We have programs and resources to support these ELL’s or English Language Learners.

It is common and also often required (like in Florida) for ALL teachers who are renewing their teaching certificate to receive a certain number of hours in ESOL training (strategies and best practices for English Speakers of Other Languages).

I work with both ELL teachers and WL (world languages) teachers on a daily basis.

And what is surprising and a struggle for me to understand is how all this training and preparation and resources provided are still not being embraced by so many teachers.

I think that if we were to approach teaching and learning about different people, cultures and languages the way Edgar does (and the way I did as a teacher), more hearts and minds would open to diversity in this world.

If we could approach teaching with the Cultural Iceberg Model in place, it would help students be more open and curious to learning about different people, places, things. 

It would give us new lenses through which to view the world and make connections to help us see that we are all more alike than different…how we are all connected through our humanity.

It would also deepen learning to the highest level of Bloom’s and create greater understandings of the world and our place in it (identity), getting us all closer to the peak of Maslow’s Hierarchy of self-actualization.

WOW! Who wouldn’t want that?

Peter Drucker, a legendary management theorist is attributed (although debated) with saying:

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Let’s take a look at the image model from the Language and Culture Worldwide, LLC. which proposes that we need to 

“successfully leverage difference in a multicultural world.”

 

How could using this model help change teaching and learning?

And how can culture beat strategy in business and in the classroom?

 

Let’s take a deeper dive… (more…)

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Linda Markley

Fall Break

Spirit of teaching

We have just passed through the Fall Equinox on September 22nd as the sun passed the Equator and headed further south. Thus, the change of season, temperatures, weather, etc.

Many students and teachers are enjoying a Fall Break right now too, which conjures up happy feelings for us all, right?

Well, I was thinking about the combination of these two words in a different light recently, and I wanted to explore it with you here.

We have had a lot of changes lately as we pass through our journey in life.

A pandemic.

Political and social challenges.

Economic instability, inflation.

Climate change, a hotter than normal summer, a devastating hurricane.

So, I was thinking about the word “fall” and its many connotations.

Fall as the season.

To fall down.

To fall head over heals in love.

To have a falling out with someone.

To fall behind.

To have something fall through.

Help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.

Then, there is the word “break”, which comes from Old English brecan, to fragment, destroy, burst forth, spring out.

To break your fast.

To break a leg.

To break the bank.

To break the ice.

To break out.

To break in.

To break your heart.

To break your back.

To break someone’s fall.

So, where am I going with all this?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Lessons

Learning Lessons, making connections, professional development, Spirit of teaching, Strategies, teacher choices, teacher resources, teacher support, Wholehearted teaching

Teachers are back to school and knee deep in planning, creating lessons and delivering them to their students.

I  do workshops and trainings with teachers across the country helping them to create lesson plans while exploring standards, strategies, resources and best practices to deliver these plans.

This is what schools and districts call “professional development”.

I think that there should be an almost indistinguishable line between “professional” development and “personal” development.

Isn’t that what learning is?

The skills, strategies, standards and best practices we learn in our personal daily lives are the same as what we learn and put into effect in our professional lives.

Things like time management, people or interpersonal skills, pride and integrity in our work, showing up and doing our best, resilience, responsibility, empathy, emotional intelligence, executive function, and so on…

I am a HUGE believer in connecting lessons learned in the classroom to lessons we experience and learn from in our daily personal lives.

That is why I wrote the book “Learning Lessons”.

Life is a cycle of learning lessons.

So, how does that apply to the lessons teachers create every day in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Start Again

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, Joy, Learning Lessons, Maslow before Blooms, professional development, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher support, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

Welcome to the new school year 2026-2027!

Whether this is your first year in teaching or your 31st year, the hope and vision that we hold in our hearts over the summer is that August (or September for some) is a season, a time, an opportunity to start again.

Whatever happened last year is in the past.

Whatever is going to happen this year is yet to be seen.

What is blatantly obvious and shines brightly (or should) is that we have in front of us a new path, a new opportunity and unlimited possibilities to start this year differently than any other year.

To learn from our past.

To still hope for the future.

To start again…and again…and again…

That is the learning cycle and what I bring to light in my book, Learning Lessons.

Let’s explore that a little more…

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Bias for Action

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher behavior, teacher evaluation, teacher support, teacher value, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

Teacher evaluations – hot and controversial topic, right?

As much as we would like to think that teachers are “lying around the pool and eating bon-bons” during their summer “off”, that is not true at all!

It is a story made up by non-teachers who are not happy (or even jealous!) that teachers are not in their classrooms during the summer like they have to be in their office or on the job during summer months.

Well, I am here to tell you that most teachers I know (and there have been literally thousands of them over my long career!) are attending PD workshops, learning and growing their craft.

Or they are writing curriculum and creating “new and improved” initiatives to implement as mandated by the district or state.

Even if teachers were lounging by the pool and consuming French chocolates, their minds are still wandering and reflecting on events from the past school year and how they are going to try to finally get that dopamine hit and validating feedback of “innovating” or “outstanding” or “exceed expectations” or whatever the highest level is called on the rubric.

So, as I was lounging by the pool with my oh-là-là luscious chocolate companions (lol!), I struck up a conversation with my husband on the topic.

My mental musing about employee evaluations and how differently employees are evaluated in the business world as opposed to teachers in an educational system led to an interesting conversation and new perspective.

For teachers nowadays, of course we all know about Marzano and Danielson and terms like domain, rubrics, reliability, strategies, reflection, collaboration, professionalism, etc.

In the business world, they use terms like performance, review, conduct, leadership, achievement, communication, etc.

My husband brought up a term that his company (based in Germany) used: 

Bias for Action

I had no idea what he meant by that, and so I asked. (more…)

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Linda Markley

Permission Slips

Introspection, Learning Lessons, Maslow before Blooms, overwhelmed, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher behavior, teacher burnout, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher value, teacher vulnerability, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

Do you remember when there were permission slips in school?

A permission slip is a document used by schools, clubs, or organizations to obtain formal, legal consent from a parent or guardian for a minor to participate in specific activities,

In my book, Learning Lessons, I talk about using permission slips in our daily lives in a less formal or legal way to give consent to ourselves whether or not to participate in certain activities.

I even have a “form” to fill out that looks like the picture above.

And there is more explanation in Chapter 14 of my book, pp. 115-124 on how to use these to give ourselves permission to do or not do something.

Very simple, yet powerful.

First, they raise awareness.

Secondly, they prompt action to make a choice.

And finally, they have an emotional charge behind them.

The word “permission” is related to the word “permit” which is from the Latin permittere “let pass, let go, let loose; give up, hand over; let, allow, grant, permit” 

These are all great words to describe the goal of a personal permission slip, but I want to look at the word as a compound word PER + MISSION.

When we make decisions to take action or not to take action and decide which actions to take to move forward, it helps if we ask the bigger question:

Does this action align with my values, goals and how I want to show up in the world?

Is it PER my MISSION in life?

Everything is just about choices and how we align each choice with our bigger mission in life and who we want to be and how we want to show up for ourselves and for others.

So, what permission slip(s) do you need to write yourself for today?

Teachers: What are you going to write on your SUMMER permission slips?

Then, what will you write on your SCHOOL YEAR permission slips?

Are they the same or different? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Q & A

Spirit of teaching

There are a lot of answers being shared at this time of year due to all the standardized testing that is going on in schools, mostly on computers.

I wonder how much learning was done on computers during the school year???

There is a push-back movement against too much screen time happening in education.

I think that is great!  

At the same time, I wonder how many parents limit the screen time of their children?

Are we using technology only to find (and give) answers anymore and not be curious to ask questions? 

It seems to me that modern technology that is intended to connect people nowadays (cell phones, computers) has groomed society to always want to give answers, even though we think that we are seeking answers via Dr. Google.

There is a positive and negative to this. 

It is helpful to be able to easily find answers to questions we have about how something works or who can help us solve a problem we are having. 

However, the down side to that is that there seem to be so many people that want to just give answers all the time without even thinking about what the question really is or what the consequence of their “answer” is.

Many people feel like they are giving or “sharing” answers, but really they are just giving opinions or judgments.

I once posted on social media that a new Teacher Tales podcast had been released.

My guest was a Mandarin teacher who had come to this country from China.

My question to him, like with all my guests, was why did he become a teacher.

Some people did not feel his answer was a valid one, and without even listening to the podcast, shared judgmental comments and rude “answers” to my question to Tony.

I don’t understand this, and it is so heartbreaking to believe that people don’t listen with their ears (eyes in this case) and their hearts.

They just want to give answers and tell everyone what they think or “understand”…lowest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking.  Sigh!

Fred Rogers once said:

“It is important to listen with our ears and our hearts and to make sure

our questions are just as important as our answers.”

Fred’s wisdom is timeless and always meaningful and powerful.

Yet, in education, we are preaching Bloom’s and Maslow while at the same time restricting what can be taught and when, how it can be taught, why it can be taught and by whom.

Those questions of who, what, when, where, why and how are the basis of Bloom’s to get to higher order thinking skills…to evaluate, synthesize and fully process input/information.

ACTFL’s definition of communication is “knowing how, when and why to say what and to whom”.

Communication starts with INPUT and the receptive modes of listening or reading or seeing. 

But no one wants to stop and take the time to go through all the questions and process what they are interpreting. 

Just give answers…no questioning, at any level for many people!

Why is that, especially in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Champions

calling to make a difference, Passion, professional development, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher value, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

It is that designated time of year again when we are to celebrate teachers with “Teacher Appreciation Week”.

So, I thought I would remind everyone what exactly a teacher is and why they deserve to be celebrated.

When we think of the word “champion”, we usually think of it in terms of athletes and sporting events (which, by the way, too many children idolize and want to be winning athletes who become famous and make ridiculous amounts of money! That’s another topic for another day for sure!)

When I think of champions, I am reminded of teachers and the powerful Ted Talk that Rita Pierson gave entitled “Every Child Needs a Champion”.

You can watch it here.  

Teachers ARE champions and should be celebrated and appreciated and compensated as such!

As a noun, the word “champion” is from Latin campus meaning field (of combat), which came to mean someone who is a “combatant in a field”.

As a verb, champion means “to fight for, defend, protect, maintain or support by contest or challenge”.

Many teachers feel like the classroom is a “field of combat” anymore because of all the accusations, allegations, instigations that are happening to them via parents, students and even admin and colleagues sometimes.

Teaching is hard…no doubt about it!

But I would like to share a different perspective that might inspire and give hope to teachers (and no, it is not toxic positivity, so don’t even go there!)

I thought of how a field is also where we can wander, explore and even grow food or flowers for sustenance or enjoyment.

What kind of field of “dreams” are we creating everyday in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Relationships

calling to make a difference, communication, creating community, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Resources, Strategies, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher hero, teacher mental health, teacher resources, teacher support, teacher value, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

I was recently watching some episodes of the 2006-2011 TV series Friday Night Lights.

If you are not familiar with it, you can check out more about it here.

The main characters are Eric, a high school football coach, and his wife, Tammy who is a high school guidance counselor.

There are, of course, many themes that play throughout the show related to football, high school, education and life in general.

The thing I love the most is the theme of relationships and how building relationships and nurturing them is a key element to success both in and out of school.

Both Eric and Tammy understand that making connections and investing in the relationships with students are the most essential ingredients to creating a positive and thriving school environment and culture.

It is not about test scores, blue ribbons, trophies on the shelf or rankings on a list.

It is about being role models, showing up for kids, believing in them and walking beside them as they make their way on the path of life.

This is what we do as educators every single day in the classroom.

And with every single teacher I have ever spoken to, the greatest reward and the fondest memories and what keeps them going as an educator come from the relationships they have created and nurtured with their students.

It is understandably tough to reach out, be vulnerable and make connections with students.

It is sometimes a painful, energy and time sucking process, but the payoff is priceless, timeless and energizing.

What are some things we can do to create a classroom culture of 

nurturing relationships with our students and also, among our students?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

The I.N.P.U.T. Affect

Can do's, communication, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Learning Lessons, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Podcasting, Purpose, Resources, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher resources, teacher self-care, teacher support, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

Before you become too focused on whether or not I misspelled “affect” and that I really meant, “effect”, I will let you know that I fully intended to write “Affect” with an “A”.

The etymology of the word affect is from ad “to” + facere (past participle factus) “to make, do”.(etymonliine.com)

We use the word “effect” more to describe the result of something that affected us and our environment…the result of an action that was taken.

Actions DO have an effect on our affect…or is it the other way around?

The proverbial “chicken or egg first” enigma!

As an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) and a language teacher, I have had many opportunities to study and experience first hand what I call the “INPUT” Affect.

Input is what we take from our outside environment and put into our inside environment.

In language terms, “input” is used to describe the words we take in and how we then interpret them based on our own personal values, meaning, experiences, etc.

This “input” can affect how we see ourselves and how we interact (take action) with the world around us and the world within us.

Just a little more context and information…in language terms, there are three modes of communication. The first, and most important one, is the interpretive mode. It powers up the other two modes of communication (interpersonal – two way exchange with another person, and presentational – one way communication).

Early in my career, I realized how important the interpretive mode was to effective communication and to motivating my students to take risks to use the language in personal and meaningful ways.

Then, I created an acronym for the word INPUT to help explain, retain and guide language teachers on their pedagogical decisions for lesson planning so that they could help their students have a more powerful language learning experience. 

(Of course I did because that is a staple in education and learning, right, to create an acronym! Lol!)

I have made this acronym the picture for this blog post to better explain what I mean by INPUT in terms of our personal, everyday lives.

Let me explain it a little more.

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Good News!

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, Essential questions, Introspection, Joy, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

We all could use some good news in our daily lives.

Lord knows teaching is so hard and so full of “news” that can bring us down in a hurry.

How do we keep our “spirit of teaching” up and running?

I have tried a few things to help with that, and they are working.

I would like to share a few thoughts with you.

Take a minute here to ponder what habits or best practices might help you lift up your “spirit” of teaching. 

Okay, now here is what I have found has helped.

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Circles of Support

Spirit of teaching

We love circle metaphors, right?

You know…the circle of life, like in the Lion King?

The circle is both an image and a metaphor of completeness and equality.

A circle is a container, a vessel of protection and safety whose boundary helps encourage sharing and confidentiality.

A circle is a powerful thing, and we use it often to express complex concepts.

“To come full circle”

“To go around in circles”

“To circle the wagons”

“To circle back around”

“Circle of influence”

Powerful images of circles: clocks, wheels, rings, coins, compass, life buoy, medicine wheel… 

It tells us that everything is just going to keep going round and round and come back again so that we can enjoy it more, try it again and get better or just know that we are not hitting a dead end.

This all leads to my idea about having a “Circle of Support”. This could be people and/or things that we surround ourselves with in order to feel complete and like we are enough.

From now until the end of the semester, it is a whirlwind of demands for teachers.

We have got to have our circle of support together to help us get through the holidays, the end of the semester and the end of another calendar year!

So, who can be in your circle of support?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Mind Your Vowels and Consonants

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Introspection, making connections, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

In the last blog post, I talked about teacher behavior in the classroom.

To follow up, I would like to offer up some guidance on how to perhaps become more aware of our behaviors and in turn, make more powerful choices for better, more desired outcomes.

You have probably heard the idiom “mind your p’s and q’s”, right?

So, where did it come from?

In jolly old England, many people, especially working men, would escape to the pub after work to de-stress and forget about their problems.

Many wives would tell them: “Now, if you go to the pub after work, mind your p’s and q’s” (probably because they were not in agreement with their husbands going to the pub).

They didn’t want their husbands drinking in excess until drunk and out of control. 

In England, beer is served in pints or quarts, thus the p’s and the q’s.

The wives were advising (warning?) their husbands to pay attention and be aware of their choice of size and quantity of beer they were consuming.

Well, I thought to myself, what could I come up with the help teachers/people remember the choices they have and to “mind them” (aka pay attention and be aware of our options and choices)?

Mind your vowels and consonants.

Vowels = A E I O U 

So, now we would have:  AFFIRM, ENGAGE, INVITE, OPTIMIZE, UNITE for the steps in our relationship building process with others to produce more harmonious and agreeable results?

AFFIRM the other person’s existence, beliefs, similarities, differences…who they are, but also to learn more about who we are

ENGAGE them in conversation and activities that give them, and you, permission to be curious, explore and learn more toward greater acceptance

INVITE them to join you and Venn Diagram what you have discovered and shared with each other so that you can harmonize your interpersonal interactions

OPTIMIZE the strengths in each other to be able to support, inspire and celebrate each other and see your place in the bigger picture of things (humanity)

UNITE and collaborate and grow together for the greater good of everyone whose lives you touch in order to bring hope to others  

Vowels are the connectors to consonants. The word “consonant” is from Latin, meaning “one sound”. 

Vowels allow us to make utterances, create words and communicate to others our needs, desires, hopes, dreams, affirmations, inspirations, and so on.  

So, if we apply our vowels in all our relationships, we can create one sound together…harmonize…and bring sweet music to the world.

Just think of the power teachers have to bring sweet music into the hearts of children when they create their classroom culture on the relationship “vowels” (like the A E I O U above) and also create connections to a community of “one sound” that will harmonize greater understandings of peace, love, joy, grace, compassion, respect, validation and belonging into this world.

AFFIRM

ENGAGE

INVITE

OPTIMIZE

UNITE 

A E I O U

You can do it too!

 

Image credit:

“Alphabet 20” by Leo Reynolds is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

 

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Linda Markley

Resources and Support

calling to make a difference, creating community, Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Teacher Appreciation, teacher resources, teacher struggles, teacher support

More and more funding for resources and support for teachers is being reduced, or worse, eliminated altogether.

Teachers have always had to buy materials and supplies and pay for them out of their own very tight personal budget.

Teachers have always had to write grants and jump through fiery hoops of paperwork and accountability just to get money to fund everyday needs in the classroom.

Why???

And I SHOUT more loudly WHY???

We are a wealthy nation capable of providing for teachers.

So, why are teachers taking their precious time, money, energy and other resources to seek the support they need to teach?

Why do so many reply on social media to The Spirit of Teaching’s post to share their Amazon Wish List for back-to-school?

And, they share with heartfelt pleas and deep gratitude for “anything you can do to help out my kids is greatly appreciated!”

I don’t see any other employees in my community of businesses purchasing their own supplies, resources and begging for support in order to do their jobs.

So, once again, I ask WHY??? 

Do you have an answer or solution?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Teacher Behavior

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher vulnerability, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

I have always been a big cheerleader and supporter of teachers.

That is why I founded The Spirit of Teaching and my podcast, Teacher Tales.

However, in the past year or so, I have been losing faith and hope as I witness more and more inappropriate behaviors on the part of some teachers…

…in fact, too many teachers!

Let me explain and give some examples. (more…)

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Linda Markley

A Matter of Time

Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching

Time is an interesting thing to ponder. 

The singer Jim Croce wanted to “save time in a bottle”, like a Genie with magic powers that could grant three wishes.

Aeschylus, a Greek playwright, declared that “time brings all things to pass”.

The famous Greek statesman, Pericles, claimed that “time is the wisest counselor of them all”.

President John F. Kennedy advised us to “use time as a tool, not as a crutch”.

Albert Einstein told the world that “time is an illusion”.

Benjamin Franklin simply stated that “time is money”.

J.R.R. Tolkien proclaimed that “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”.

But for me, the most meaningful and powerful quote about time comes from The Little Prince:

“It is the time you have spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

In other words, time is a valuable resource, and if we truly love something, we invest time in it.

So, time matters, and if we invest our time wisely on what really matters and what is truly important to us, it will pay a lifetime of personal dividends of the heart.

How is that?

During the school year, teachers never feel like they have enough time to cover everything they need to during a class period, a day, a grading period, an entire school year…

During the summer, teachers never feel like they have enough time to catch up on the things at home that they didn’t have time to do during the school year.

Everything is a matter of time and the concept of time is an enigma.

So, what should we do?

We do the best we can given the circumstances, resources, conditions, capabilities and TIME that we have.

Whether it is in the context of school, a lesson, a school year or our life here on Earth.

Time is forever flowing, and so should we.

Summer is coming to a close for many teachers, and this is causing a great deal of anxiety for many.

We cannot make time stop.

We cannot control the passing of time.

We cannot control what time brings us with each passing moment.

All we can do is enjoy and savor each moment we have to learn, grow, connect, love, share and live from our beating hearts!

So, teachers, let go of the shackles of time and be free to enjoy the rest of your summer break!

And also, I hope you can do the same during the school year!

 

Image credit: Unsplash 

Mete Yıldırım

https://unsplash.com/photos/a-person-holding-a-small-pocket-watch-in-their-hand-sgc0vuR1H2w

 

 

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Linda Markley

Summertime FUN!

Essential questions, Joy, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, teacher burnout, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher support, teacher well-being

Do you remember the Beach Boys song entitled “Fun, Fun, Fun”?

You can refresh your memory here, and you don’t have to own a T-Bird to relate!

There are a lot of teacher conferences that happen over the summer, and my social media feed has been full of posts from teachers having “fun, fun, fun” at these conferences.

Summer is for fun, and I hope that everyone is finding something that they enjoy and find fun to do.

The word for fun in Spanish is “divertido”, related to the words “divert” and “diversion”.

The etymology of fun is from the Old English word fun meaning “to cheat or trick”.

So, to have fun means…

…to do something that is a diversion from the ordinary or from what we normally do.

…to do something that diverts our attention from our troubles, sorrows, preoccupations, etc. and directs us more toward things that will relieve us of these burdens.

…to do something that cheats time and tricks our minds into a state of bliss and mindful musings.

What is fun to one person may not be fun to another.

So, what are some things we can do to have fun?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Place Value

calling to make a difference, Spirit of teaching, Teacher Appreciation, teacher support, teacher value

Teacher Appreciation Week was just celebrated last week.

What did you do for a teacher to show them how much you appreciate and value what they do?

What value do you place on education and the educators that do so much to make a difference in the life of a child, and therefore, this world in which we all live?

To explore this very critical topic a little, I want to play around a little with these two words:  PLACE and VALUE.

In Math, place value refers to the value of a digit based on its position in a number.

For example, in the number 463,  the digit 4 has a place value of 400 because it is in the hundreds place. The digit 3 has a place value of 3 because it is in the ones column.

Sometime I think about place value in terms of how we rate, rank and value teachers in the education profession.

I could change the syntax of the words and ask “what VALUE do we PLACE” on teachers?

This totally changes the meaning, doesn’t it?

When we place a value on a teacher based on their student test scores, it seems like we are just ranking them and putting them in a place among other numbers and digits.

So, a teacher whose student test scores are ranked 26th out of 30 schools in the district will not have much value placed on what they have done and on who they are as a teacher.

There are so many mitigating circumstances and uncontrollable variables that can affect those scores, and therefore, that ranking. 

Zero is the absence of value, and is just a placeholder. 

YET, it can seem to add great value to a number.

For example, 5…50…500…and so on.

Which has more value?

It seems to me that the more zeros, the more value???

Wait, what???

That’s not how math works!

The more zeros a student has, the more value?

Hmmmmm, I say, scratching my head!

What do I mean by all this? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Authenticity

Spirit of teaching

How much of what goes on in the classroom today could be considered “authentic” and not contrived, prescribed, manipulated and not “real”?

Authentic = directly from Medieval Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos “original, genuine, principal,” from authentēs “one acting on one’s own authority,” from autos “self” (see auto-) + hentēs “doer, being”  (etymonline.com)

First of all, how many lessons and learning experiences in the classroom are on the computer, not relative to the student’s life, not created by the teacher nor delivered in a genuine way?

So many lessons are created by the district and mandated for teacher use in the classroom.

Teachers who don’t have time nor the desire to create their own lessons got to TPT.

Too many teachers are also just “page turners” and just go page-by-page from a textbook.

No creativity. No personalization nor customization nor meaningful connection to the context and real world of the students.

Why?

Too much work?

Too afraid given the current “witch hunt” that is going on in schools?

Don’t know how?

Don’t care?

Don’t have the resources?

Have no choice but to follow the prescribed and mandated curriculum?

Secondly, how many educators can “act on one’s own authority”?

In other words, how many teachers can actually be creative and add their own personal “spices” to the lesson “recipe” they are given by a textbook or the district?

How many authentic learning experiences are students having in the classroom
 that are going to engage, inspire and prepare them 
for their real world experiences outside of the classroom? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Teacher Mental Health

professional development, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher burnout, teacher mental health, teacher resources, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher vulnerability, teacher well-being, Wholehearted teaching

As a long-time attendee of teacher conferences, I can say that the topic of teacher mental health was never a topic for a session of professional development.

This has certainly changed in the past decade, especially after the pandemic!

The number and variety of sessions on teacher mental health and well-being as well as teacher burnout has increased tremendously and, quite frankly, are quite well-attended at conferences.

I,  myself, present often these days on this very topic, and as a result, have gathered quite a bit of research on the topic.

  • 21% of teachers report poor mental health (American Federation of Teachers) 
  • 75% of teachers experience stress (Education Support) 
  • 41% of teachers experience anxiety (American Psychological Association) 
  • 44% of teachers report feeling burnt out (National Center for Education Statistics) 
  • 25-74% of teachers experience clinically significant burnout (ResearchGate) 
  • Teachers are more likely to experience burnout than other professions
  • 68% of teachers feel overwhelmed by their job (NEA) 
  • 48% of teachers are dissatisfied with their job (EdWeek Research Center) 
  • 55% of teachers plan to leave the profession earlier than expected due to burnout (Education WalkThrough) 
  • Teacher mental health has been declining in recent years 
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues among teachers 
  • Younger teachers are more likely to experience mental health problems 

And it is just getting worse by the day.

The mental health of teachers is declining. The Spirit of Teaching is committed and dedicated to helping teachers with the struggles and the challenges that they face every day in the classroom.

Here is how we are helping. (more…)

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