Category: Spirit of teaching

Linda Markley

The Big Question

calling to make a difference, communication, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Beside doing this blog, I also send out a weekly newsletter called the Sunday Spirit Spark as well as host a podcast called Teacher Tales.

You can check all of these out at Spirit of Teaching

I started this journey for the Spirit of Teaching during the pandemic when I witnessed my beloved friends and colleagues and profession struggling and suffering and losing their compass and direction.

The question that came up a lot was WHY?

Why should I keep doing this when kids don’t even show up for the Zoom meeting or keep their cameras on or do their work or ???

Why should I put my health and well-being on the line in a pandemic?

Why should I even care if no one else cares?

Why?  Why?  Why?  echoed through the hearts of teachers across the world more than ever before.  

In fact, post-pandemic, it is still simmering in the background of every teacher’s mind as more and more challenges come about.

Challenges like teachers being told that they can’t teach certain things or have certain books in their libraries or talk about certain topics or do certain activities in class o push back against excessively aggressive and bullying parents and students. The list goes on…

The big question in the classroom has always been and always will be WHY? 

So, today I was doing a podcast recording with a teacher who said that in order to keep his focus and stay in the profession, he had to always remind himself of his “WHY?”

Why did I become a teacher?

Why do I show up every day at school?

Why ___________?  fill in the blank (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Second Semester Slide

Can do's, creating community, Intention, Introspection, Joy, making connections, Passion, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

Teachers and students across the world are coming back to school from a winter break.

After a couple of weeks of festivities, taking a break and ending the first semester of school, teachers and students hopefully return refreshed, recharged and renewed.

Things are so calm and sleepy the first few days back as everyone is re-adjusting to being back in the routine of getting up early and immersing themselves in the everyday demands of being back in the classroom.

I used to think to myself “Oh my gosh! The kids matured and everything that I tried to teach them the first semester has finally magically sunk in! “

Or…”Oh my gosh! Somehow taking a break, recharging and contemplating all that stuff about Santa and coal in the stocking has finally had a positive affect on the students! They are so well behaved and matured since I last saw them two weeks ago!”

It didn’t take long to realize that it was just temporary as the kids were really just sleep deprived, off schedule, still buzzing on a holiday sugar high or in a lingering euphoria from all the gifts they had received for Christmas.

Was the second semester doomed? Were things hopeless? Should I just give up on them and myself and the whole educational thing?

As my years of teaching went by, I came to fondly name the beginning of the second half of the school year when we returned after the Winter holiday break as the “Second Semester Slide”.

So, what do I mean by this? (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Art of Teaching

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, Introspection, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

Mark Van Doren, American poet, writer and professor at Columbia University said:

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”.

Teaching truly is an art form.

Each teacher is a unique artist creating a masterpiece lesson plan into which they put their own carefully chosen objects, colors, shadings, meaning and a bit of themselves.

A masterful teacher creates this masterpiece lesson, and then, like any work of art, invites the viewer/recipient to explore, discover and learn at their own pace and in their own way.

A work of art is personal and sensory and contextual.

Yet it is also universal and appeals to the humanity in all of us.

Lessons need to be personal, sensory and contextual in order to become meaningful.

They also need to be universal and teach us the “greater understandings” of life.

When something is personally meaningful to us, we make a connection…literally brain and heart connections.

This is the magic of teaching, and what may be missing in some classrooms today because of various factors.

Why has this changed, and what can a teacher do 
to become a masterful artist at their craft? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Rules and Rulers

communication, creating community, Essential questions, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

Words are powerful!

The etymology of words is so fascinating and fun and can give us great insight and inspiration to life’s challenges as well as rewards.

According to etymonline.com, the origin of the word rule is “ from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula “straight stick, bar, ruler;” figuratively “a pattern, a model,” related to regere “to rule, straighten, guide” (from PIE root *reg- “move in a straight line,” with derivatives meaning “to direct in a straight line,” thus “to lead, rule”).”

 Rules are a big part of the classroom culture and a teacher’s foundation for managing that culture. However, rules and the rulers who implement them can sometimes create an imbalance in power that controls and suppresses rather than “guides” or “directs in a straight line”.

Usually the teacher has their rules listed on a poster in the classroom, hands out a copy of the rules to the students and goes over them on the first day of class. 

Sometimes the rules are in the form of “Don’t” as in “don’t talk when the teacher is talking”. 

Sometimes they are in the form of “Be” –  “Be quiet and respectful”.

Sometimes they are in the form of “Do” – “Always do your best”.

Sometimes they include absolutes like “never” or “always”.

Whatever form they come in, rules are intended to regulate the culture of the classroom.

Culture, in terms of world languages instruction, is defined as the “products, practices and perspectives” of the people that make up a community.

Notice that the word for ruler also comes from regula as in a straight stick to measure/guide.

So, what can we glean from the etymology of these words, as teachers,

that can help us with our classroom culture? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Hocus-Pocus Teaching in Scary Times

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, making connections, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

It is October, and things are heating up for teachers as the weather cools down.

FALL is in the air.

Teachers may feel like things are not “falling” into place or that they are “falling” down on the job because it is the end of the grading period, and they are having a hard time keeping up with…

…too many students trying to make up work they should have done weeks ago

…too many parents reacting negatively, and yes, even aggressively (bullying) because their    child does not have the grade they want them to have and, somehow, that’s the teacher’s fault

…too many emails, meetings, papers to grade, parent conferences, admin visits for evaluation

…too many things to JUGGLE

Teachers maybe need a little bit of HOCUS-POCUS.

Did you know that the origin of the phrase HOCUS-POCUS is from the Latin phrase hicce es doctus, which means here is the learned man. (etymonline.com). 

The phrase eventually became used by jugglers and magicians to refer to their craft/sleight of hand.

Nowadays, the phrase “hocus-pocus” conjures up the wildly popular Disney film of the same name, which has just released a part 2.

So, what do Fall, Hocus-Pocus, October, jugglers, magicians and teachers have in common?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Cherished Memories

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Intention, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

There is no doubt that the impact a teacher has on the life of a student, and eventually on the world, is inestimable.

The impact can be positive or negative and last a lifetime…for better or for worse.

When children come to the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to create a bond and nurture a relationship with each and every child through the choices we make and the experiences we create through the lessons and activities in which we actively engage those children.

Teachers feel this in the heart and soul of their being. It can be quite a burden to carry, but it can also be the most uplifting, invigorating and everlasting joy they can experience in life!

When we decide to become a teacher, our hearts enter into a lifelong commitment…for better or for worse…to love each and every child, unconditionally. 

It is not always easy, loving or joyful, and many, MANY days our commitment may begin to wain and our hearts begin to shrink a little and have less capacity for joy, passion and love.

Nonetheless, it is ALWAYS there, just like our founding love that helped create a bond in any relationship or “marriage” of connection to another.

There are always cherished memories that we create with others through our bond and connection that will live in our hearts forever.

So, we need to keep reminders and mementos of them close by to help us come back to our heart center and remember the WHY in what we are doing and the choices were are making.

How do we do create and keep 
those cherished memories near and dear to our hearts?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Teacher Wish Lists

Spirit of teaching

“When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires 

Will come to you.”

(From the Disney movie, Pinocchio)

 

One of my greatest wishes in the world is that this is true for teachers and their students.

It is that time of year when a new school year is beginning.

Teachers spend much of their summer professional developing, reflecting and making plans for next year…new ideas, new and exciting lessons, new decorations to motivate and support students, project, classroom transformations, incentives, print and tech resources, etc.

All this takes money. Most teachers have hearts as big as the world and want their students to have the most powerful and positive learning experience possible, so they spend money from their own pockets.

If you have looked at the latest teacher salaries, you will see that this is a great burden to a teacher’s already limited budget and resources.

So, many teachers now are creating Amazon Wish Lists to help get what they need for the classroom. 

#clearthelist is a hashtag that has been created to help teachers share their list through social media.

What do teachers and their students need?
How can you help?
 (more…)

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Linda Markley

Relationships

Spirit of teaching

In all of the Teacher Tales podcasts I have done and all of the conversations I have had with teachers throughout my career, the most important thing in teaching, learning and having a successful experience in school seems to come down to one main factor.

Can you guess what that is?

Funding?

Test scores?

Parent involvement?

Resources?

Support?

Words of praise?

More pay?

These are all indeed variables that can affect the “success” equation, however, all of these hinge on the ONE THING that teachers tell me is the KEY to their success, student success, school success, educational success… (more…)

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Linda Markley

Let’s Celebrate!

Can do's, communication, creating community, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

As an extremely difficult school year for all comes to a close, I call everyone together to CELEBRATE.

(key up the Celebration song by Kool and the Gang???)

The end of the year does signal a feeling of “good times” coming…a.k.a. = the summer!

Well, for some maybe. I know many school districts are having summer school to help those students who have a “learning gap” or are somehow considered “behind”.

Many teachers are celebrating because they are leaving the profession all together and don’t have to put up with the stress and unreasonable demands that are causing them poor mental and physical health.

Seniors and their families are celebrating because they have reached a milestone in their educational journey and are graduating from high school.

The etymology of the word celebrate is from Latin celebrare meaning “to assemble to honor and sing praises of”

No matter how teachers, parents, admin, students, districts 
or anyone else may view this past school year, 
there is always something to celebrate!

Let’s honor and sing the praises of all the teachers, students, parents and everyone in the educational system for getting through the school year the best way they knew how, with the circumstances and obstacles they faced and with the limited resources of time, money, energy and sometimes support that they received.

Celebrate, honor and praise all the little things that became big things like:

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Sparkle and Shine

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Who doesn’t like when things “sparkle and shine”?

As you can probably guess, the word “sparkle” is related to the word “spark”.

In the classroom, there are a lot of sparks flying from conflicts, stress, tension, confrontation, negative emotions and actions… you get the picture.

So, how can we turn “sparks” into “sparkle” and shine? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Discipline in the Classroom (and Beyond)

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, making connections, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

This word is the focus of much discussion when it comes to the classroom and teachers.

The word, itself, has such an interesting etymology. If we take a look at the different origins and usages of the word as related to the classroom and education, it gets even more interesting.

According to etymonline.com, here are some insights:

*from Old French descepline “discipline, physical punishment; teaching; suffering; martyrdom”

*from Latin disciplina “instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge,”

*related to the word disciple “one who follows another for the purpose of learning,”

So much has been researched and written about the topic of discipline in the classroom.

Today, it is referred to as “classroom management”.

No matter what we call it, first year teachers struggle with it. 

And now, in the pandemic, even veteran teachers are struggling with it.

So, what can teachers do?

Use a “discipline ladder” or some other “system of behavior accountability” as they are called today? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Follow the Directions

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

“Follow the directions” is a fundamental phrase used in the classroom.

Teachers get really, REALLY frustrated when students don’t follow the directions.

I understand how important directions, procedures and processes are in keeping an organized and smoothly operating classroom of 20, 30 + students, especially young ones.

HOWEVER, I also feel that sometimes we follow directions too stringently and cause ourselves undue stress. It can also open the door to a flood of judgment and shame.

The word “direction” comes from the Latin word directionem, meaning to make a straight line.

If my geometry knowledge serves me well, a direct, straight line is the shortest route between two points…a beginning and an end.

But WHAT IF, the learning journey is not the shortest distance nor the most “direct” path between two points, the starting point at the beginning, and an end point at the destination (end?)

WHAT IF the directions we receive are not the straight on nor the same for every person? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Believe!

Can do's, i am enough, Intention, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher hero, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

The power of belief is truly inestimable!

As teachers, especially, it is our greatest super-power. To believe in a child, in their potential and in their value has a more lasting and meaningful impact on their lives than any content we could ever get them to master and appreciate.

Times are tough right now though, and mustering up the power of belief is hard.

The pandemic has become like Kryptonite for teachers, and they feel like they have lost their power to do anything meaningful or effective.

So, how do we tap into that power of belief again? (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Kindness Game

calling to make a difference, creating community, Intention, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies

Happy World Kindness Day 2021!  

World Kindness Day is celebrated all around the world every year on November 13th. It was introduced in 1998 by the World’s Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations’ kindness NGO’s.

You can learn more about it here.

I am a HUGE proponent of bringing more kindness into this world!

Want to bring more kindness into your world? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Place Value in the Classroom Today

calling to make a difference, creating community, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

Place value is truly an educational term that gets emblazoned into our brains very early on as we learn numbers and how they operate in mathematical equations.

According to the dictionary, “place value is the numerical value that a digit has by virtue of its position in a number”.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on.

And the Mayans came up with the concept of the absence of value, which they represented by the number zero.

Hmmm, so this is all great. I used to teach math once upon a time. 

However, nowadays,  I am thinking about place value in the classroom in other terms. (more…)

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Linda Markley

Helpers in the Classroom

i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices

I really love birds.  I also really love watching birdcams. One of my favorites that my daughter introduced me to is this one of the albatross Tiaki on the cliffs of New Zealand.

Tiaki and the other fledgling albatross are facing some pretty strong wind as they try to take off and fly.  However, they learn quickly to ride the wind and use it to help guide them safely back to the ground and to their nests.

Watching this video, I thought about what teachers are still going through even as a new school year has begun. 

Even after a year of teaching in a pandemic, teachers are still struggling in this new school year with all the challenges, stress, obstacles and Herculean demands that are being made on them. 

So many teachers I know are having major physical and mental health issues. Addictions are on the rise.  Every day is an emotional roller coaster of frustration, disappointment, anxiety, anger and guilt.

Teachers feel as if they have the proverbial “albatross” around their necks.

What does this mean? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Be Well, Do Well

Spirit of teaching

As the new school year is about to begin across the USA and even across the world, there is an underlying anxious tone permeating the very essence of all teachers, students, parents, admin, staff, etc.

There are so many traumas to heal from last year in a pandemic. In fact, I was talking to a teacher the other day and asked “when do you go back to school?” and the reply was “oh goodness, I don’t even want to think about it let alone talk about it because I am still HEALING.”

I thought “WOW!” The trauma from last year is still going to need some time, attention, intention, nurturing and yes, healing.

We can’t just pretend that last year didn’t happen.

We can’t just ignore everything that happened and not try to learn from all the experiences, even the bad ones.

We can’t start the new year from a place of deficit, perceived “learning loss” (as it is being referred to in the media) and being behind…kind of a mindset of it’s all over before it begins because we can never catch up.

We can’t start letting all the woulda-coulda-shoulda’s reign supreme in our minds and echo through our classrooms and into the minds and hearts of our students and others.

We need to BE WELL and we need to DO WELL.

There are many resources on www.spiritofteaching.org that can help you to be well and do well.

Spirit of Teaching and Teacher Tales have been doing a series of podcasts that highlight mental health and well being.

 There is a great deal of awareness being raised about mental health., especially during the past year and a half of a pandemic.

What is mental health exactly?  

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Let’s Play!

Spirit of teaching

Once we have our curiosity going, play usually follows.

The word “play” comes from the Old English pleg(i)an ‘to exercise’, and is related to Middle Dutch pleien ‘leap for joy, dance’.

Play is essential and a critical part in the learning process, 

but it is so absent in the classroom today. Why is that?

What is especially ironic is that when students are doing what seems to be endless “exercises” in a book in order to supposedly learn something, it does not feel like or resemble what we typically think of when we think of play.

Many of the activities in school are just exercises after exercises of filling in the blanks, copying definitions, taking “notes” and doing workbook activities. They are prescriptive and meaningless, but the fastest and easiest way to deliver content, right?

It is a little like the concept of exercising and doing repetitive movements and reps in order to get in shape. The approach is kind of aligned with a mentality of “Keep working that muscle for it to get stronger. No pain, no gain.”

Standardized testing, prescriptive lesson plans, rote memorization, mindless repetition, one-size-fits-all, no real world connection or meaning…UGH…STOP!!!

Play usually involves some sort of movement, risk-taking, curiosity, imagination, pretending, make-believe, imitating, creating, role playing and being totally in the present moment. 

I have taught every age group from 0-90 years old, and a big part of my teaching was always play, no matter the age group.

I tried to tap into the curiosity of every child (or child within us all) and create what I referred to as “Disney Magic Learning Ride”. Not a scary roller coaster ride but rather that warm, “home” feeling and wonder that Walt Disney envisioned for all visitors to his theme parks.

After all, it is known as the “WONDER-ful” World of Disney!

It is really not hard to create play and a sense of wonder in the classroom.  Let’s play around with this idea. (more…)

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Linda Markley

Curiosity

calling to make a difference, Can do's, making connections, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies

Curiosity comes from the Latin word, curiosus, and is akin to the word “cura” or care/cure.  According to Etymonline, to be curious means to be “careful, diligent and to inquire eagerly”.

When one hears the word “curiosity”, people often think of the expression “curiosity killed the cat”, which totally does not conger up a positive image or motivation to inspire one to become more curious.

But if we think about cats and how they are inquisitive, yet careful, when something new is introduced into their environment, the concept is magical. 

How many cat videos and memes have been uploaded and viewed on the internet as a way to seek calm, practice self-care of de-stressing and to get a dopamine hit of “ahhhhh, how cute!”?… especially during the pandemic!

In any personal or spiritual growth practice, the first step is to get curious. What is coming up? How am I feeling? When does this happen? Who is involved? 

This is what I call the “WWWWWH?” We can’t pounce on a problem or challenge or situation like a cat who is not practicing curiosity. Maybe that’s when there are dire consequences.

We need to be careful, yet diligent and inquire eagerly at all angles through WWWWWH?

WWWWWH? = Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

These are the basics of Bloom’s Taxonomy for learning and growth.

But in the real world, it is just the basis and foundation of living and moving forward one step at a time.

We have to find the answers to the WWWWWH? of life for ourselves. No prescription, no multiple choice, no true/false, no “one-size-fits-all”. 

So, what does curiosity look like in the classroom, 

and why is it the essential and critical first step on the learning journey?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Grace

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

One of my favorite quotes, and one by which I try to live my life is:

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.

You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I tried to live by this wisdom in the classroom and teach it to my students as well.

To me, grace is the sweet nectar that can bring bliss to our lives. 
It is what makes us whole.

Another quote about grace that has had an impact on me too is from Anne Lamott.  

“I do not understand the mystery of grace –

only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.”  

 

I believe that grace is one of the greatest needs we have in the classroom today in order to achieve real growth and learning gains as human beings.

We don’t need more technology, testing, checklists, standards, evaluations or money.

We desperately need more grace in the classroom…especially now as we move forward after a very difficult school year trying to make our way teaching and learning in a pandemic.

“Grace” comes from the Latin word “gratia” meaning “favor, mercy, good will, gratitude”.

In Spanish, the expression for “please” is “por favor” or “by favor”. It implies the potential “pleasing” or “favorite” nature of the act.

In French, the expression for “thank you” is “merci”. In Italian, it is “grazie”; in Spanish, “gracias”.

Grace is an interaction, a communication, an intention from the heart. 

Grace is the love and mercy we have received from others and that we, in turn, give back to the world.

Grace is a choice that we make in every single moment of our lives. 

Grace is a conscious choice we make to bring more mercy, goodwill and gratitude into the world through our thoughts and actions.

So, what does grace look like in the classroom, and why is is so critical? (more…)

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