I get it, especially for teachers!

The word “overwhelm” comes from a combination of the Old English word ofer meaning “beyond, past or more than” and the Middle English word whelmen meaning “to turn upside down”. (etymonline.com)

In the 15th Century, the word “overwhelm” came to be used to mean “to submerge completely” and probably was used to describe boats and other sea-going vessels that were “washed over and overset by a big wave”. (etymonline.com)

As always, word origins and etymology helps us gain insights and make connections that can possibly help us with solving problems and finding solutions!

Yay for the power of language!

But here is also a graphic, “picture”, that will help use see how the feelings and subsequent use of the word “overwhelmed” to describe these feelings has grown over time.

Amazing, huh, but not surprising given our current culture of technology, the internet, social media, etc.

Another way to help people understand a concept is to use a metaphor or analogy to which people can relate.

So, using the imagery of a boat sailing along on calm seas, and all of a sudden, a big wave comes and washes over it and the boat is now submerged, off course and struggling to “right itself” can be a powerful metaphor for the teacher to understand how they are feeling and, subsequently, how to manage the “vast ocean and rough seas” of teaching.

On any given day of the school year, teachers feel submerged and like they are drowning in an ocean of paperwork, emails, parent and admin demands, challenges of not having enough resources or support to do their jobs, not being appreciated enough and being criticized too much (sometimes quite viciously and inhumanely by parents).

Every day becomes an emotional roller coaster ride for teachers in the classroom.

And as in the real world, these roller coasters are becoming higher, more complicated and more scary to endure for more than a few minutes.

This submerged, drowning feeling like they are all alone in a little boat in a vast ocean of rough weather, rough seas and no help in sight is causing many teachers to send up an S.O.S. signal of despair, disappointment and disillusionment.

Other teachers are just jumping ship altogether.

So. what can we do to help teachers “right their boats” (a boating expression used to describe the process/action of turning the boat right side up after it has capsized)?

But more importantly, what can teachers do to not get overwhelmed and capsize?

How can they navigate the rough seas of teaching for more “smooth sailing” ahead?

Warning: there is a big wave of sailing metaphors ahead, but don’t jump ship yet! Read on…

First of all, get a bigger boat and a reliable, supportive crew to help with the boat and the sailing.

In the classroom, that means to make sure that you have the resources and the people in place who will support you, share the duties and responsibilities required of a crew and not put holes in the bottom of the boat and sink it.

Sometimes we allow or even invite colleagues, admin, parents, staff and other people on the boat that are just “dead weight” that will sink the ship with their toxic attitudes, negative behaviors and lack of an “all for one and one for all” mentality.

You know who they are! We all have them on our boats, but we do not have to take them along on our journey. We can speak up, set boundaries and sail away from them into the sunset!

Only certain people have earned passage on our boat in life, and we don’t want or need anyone who would create a mutiny or become a pirate only interested in finding the treasure to keep for themselves.

Secondly, make sure the supplies and strategies are in place for any sort of weather ahead. 

Planning is key and coping mechanisms in place are like the sails on the ship that help steer it in the right direction to avoid storms, rough seas, hidden barrier reefs and any other obstacles or conditions that would prevent you from smooth sailing.

Have emergency sub plans ready so that you don’t still go to school even when you are sick because it is too much work or too complicate to get a sub.

Create a partnership with admin and another teacher who will “have your back” and help when things start getting rough. 

Maybe you need them to help the sub you got. 

Maybe you need help with a parent in a conference. 

Maybe you are running out of ideas and lessons to reach this particular student or class that you have this year.

Maybe you just need someone to listen and “see you and hear you” and validate you!

Don’t be afraid or feel like you need to be the ultimate Captain of your boat. 

You need a crew, and it takes building relationships with the right people who can be part of your crew and for whom you can be part of their crew!

Take time to build and nurture those relationships.

Finally, be flexible and willing to change course or even plot a new one in order to avoid any rough waters you might anticipate ahead.

I have know teachers who follow a lesson plan to a tee and are not willing to change plans and be flexible to meet the needs of their students. 

Some of these same teachers believe they are always right and that their course is the ONLY one that is right or that matters and will “sail” head on into rough waters and stormy seas without putting a finger in the air to check the weather conditions that surround them (f you get what I mean!) They are being too arrogant in their own Ego and point of view and, therefore, are just going “full steam ahead”, regardless of the warnings of icebergs and other dangers/obstacles and possible consequences!

I know this was an extensive metaphor, but I hope it helps because this feeling of overwhelm by teachers is the biggest problem in education today.

And if we don’t do something to raise awareness and develop a plan + strategies to overcome the overwhelm or at least deal with it in a more healthy way instead of making it the “white elephant” in every classroom, more and more teacher boats will be capsizing, sinking and just become shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea called School.

Here are some teachers who share their tips and tricks on how to combat the feelings of being overwhelmed both inside and outside the classroom:

Episode #11 – Lee – Teacher burnout, finding joy in teaching and the teacher voice

Episode # 18 – Lisa P – Finding your teacher tribe, asking for what you need, balancing demands as a parent and as a teacher

Episode #21 – Adrienne –  Teacher identity, “seasons” and permission slip to be human

I invite you to listen and share Teacher Tales!
Also, please let me know of any teacher(s) you think would like to be a guest on the podcast.
Email or text me – don’t fill out the form!

Image credit:  

“Calusd Carl -Armenian 1860 -Rowing boat on stormy sea” by wl.glazewski is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. 

The post Overwhelmed? appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

And I mean that is true for both in the classroom and outside in the real world.

It’s not just found at Disney World or Disneyland.

To hook students and to also encourage them to keep trying when they were struggling or stuck on a concept or problem or content to learn, I break out my Disney Magic Hat and magic wand and wave it in the air above the student.

I tell them that I am creating happy “Disney Magic” to help them get over any obstacles or hurdles that they are experiencing.

Do you remember as a kid how magical the effects of sparklers are during the Fourth of July or when they are placed upon a birthday cake like they do in other countries.

It creates awe and inspiration and celebration and hope in our hearts.

It is magical.

I don’t allow glitter, which does indeed sparkle, in the classroom because it is too hard to clean up.

So, how do I create “magic sparkles” in the classroom for my students

 as well as outside the classroom for myself?

In this blog post, I am not talking about “sparkles” as in…what can we do to motivate students to learn or light a fire in them (or under them?)

Instead, I am talking about the little things we can do to bring simple moments of joy and delight to the classroom.

Things that will light us up light a pinball machine and feel the energy pulsing through our veins.

Sweet moments that will build connections and relationships and community and memories.

Actions and deeds and events that will mark milestones in their learning journey.

What are the little, simple things that we can do outside of the routine, outside of the prescribed curriculum, outside of the constant demands of teaching and learning?

Laughter.

Play.

Curiosity and creativity.

Exploration, wonder, awe and choice.

Positive feedback and affirmations.

Small and meaningful celebrations.  

Connect with other classes or with the community through mentoring or other acts of service.

Let students pair up, work in groups and give them empowering choices. 

Go for a walk outside and take in the fresh air or sit in the grass or ???

Have moments and activities that are a “treat” and out of the ordinary routine.

What do you do with your students that bring simple joy, awesome delight

 and sweet moments that help the classroom light up and sparkle and shine?

Image credit:

“sparkler” by cluczkow is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post Magic and Sparkles appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

The purpose of the podcast is to let teachers share their stories or “tales” of teaching with the hope that their stories, insights, words of wisdom and experiences will serve as lessons as well as sources of inspiration to other teachers.

It is also a form of advocacy and legacy-building effort for the profession as these stories serve as insights to what it is really like to be a teacher. The public often has a skewed viewpoint, and the podcast can help those who are not teachers see things more clearly and realistically.

As each podcast guest teacher shares their story, a theme of main ideas and some really inspiring lessons seem to come through for the listener.

For example, in Teacher Tales Episode #5, I talk to Meredith, a dear friend and fellow conference “junkie”. Meredith is an amazing teacher and human being whose positive energy, authenticity and sense of humor lifts you up and takes you away on a magic carpet ride to a “whole new world” of teaching (a little Aladdin-style), but at the same time she reminds teachers to stay real and set one priority in this moment that will help us find balance and sustainability in what we do.

It is a little like reminding us that wherever we go, Abu is always along for the ride. You remember Abu, right? That mischievous little monkey who is a kleptomaniac, gets frustrated rather easily and hates to be made a fool of. At the same time, Abu is loyal, unselfish, big-hearted, empathic and benevolent.

Hmmmm, sounds like a metaphor for teaching. As teachers, we want to take those students on that magic carpet ride of learning. We want to help them see the world in a whole new perspective that will uplift their efforts and their view of themselves.

However, we also need to remember Abu is always with us on that journey.

What, you say? How is that?

There is always a side kick who helps keep the idealistic, quixotic protagonist hero in check. We all need those “Sancho Panza” reality checks to keep us grounded and more realistic with our expectations so that we don’t jump on the magic carpet and fly off into the land of “woulda-coulda-shoulda” because we have not created balance and sustainability through our choice of one priority in this moment.

We don’t have to be master plate spinners, jugglers, lion tamers, ringleaders or any other character related to a circus and monkeys. The first year I was teaching, I likened my job to that of a “ringleader” in a circus of too many ACTions to perform all at once and all within that ring, which is a circle that keeps things looping back around again and again. And then, I won’t even go into the whole metaphor of the fiery hoops we feel we have to jump through in order to prove our value and worth as teachers! My students thought the whole metaphor of school as a circus was hilarious, and so, the Spanish Club had a jersey made for me that had “ringleader” on the back in Spanish.

As Meredith also wisely points out, we don’t need to be planning and looking to the future all the time and stressing out. A little like Eckhart Tollé, she reminds us to live in the present moment and to focus on what is most important at that moment…to focus on one priority, and from there, we can find balance.

If we always look at life, at teaching, as a circus with a bunch of monkeys running around that we have to pick up and put on our backs and carry them everywhere, then, we cannot sustain that kind of life.

“Not my monkey, not my circus” has become a popular expression people use to set boundaries and to figure out what is a priority for their survival in life. They also quickly learn that “no” is a complete sentence and very similar in many languages (non, nein, ne, nem, nei… and so on). It doesn’t mean we are being negative when we use it. Maybe it is just a universal concept and word that is necessary for protection and survival.

“No” does not have to come packaged with further explanations or attachments like guilt, shame or disappointment. It is a necessary word to use to set boundaries and create sustainability in our lives. It doesn’t mean we are mean or selfish or negative.

Set a priority through awareness and doing an emotional check in.

Create balance from that awareness and your choices.

Seek sustainability by circling back and reflecting on your best practices. 

What will be your priority today, this week, this month, this year?

What will you say “yes” to, and what will you say “no” to in order to survive?

How will you manage your inner “Abu” so that you can still take that magic carpet ride of life?

Once we create a “whole new world” inside of us, a whole new world of magical pathways and journeys will open up outside of us. Enjoy your magic carpet ride of life!

Go here to listen to more Teacher Tales, and please share this link with all the teachers you know!

You can also subscribe and listen via all the popular podcast channels such as Apple, Google, Spotify…

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…

If you know of a teacher you would like to nominate to be a guest on Teacher Tales (or if YOU would like to self-nominate), go to this link and submit a quick nomination. It takes less than a minute!!!

Or submit a name via an email at thespiritofteaching@gmail.com

Thank you! The world needs to hear more true stories of teachers!

Image credit:

“listen” by garageolimpo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The post Are You Listening? appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

You can read the article here.

I have found myself longing to be outside in the healing context of Mother Nature.

But alas, it has been so hot, buggy and uncomfortable to spend more than five minutes outside. So, I have found myself hibernating and somewhat isolating in reading things and also in my thoughts.

First of all, it reminds me of how we do this as teachers in our classrooms.

For whatever reasons, we isolate in our classrooms with “our kids” and don’t get outside much to interact with our colleagues or teammates.

I witnessed the danger of this firsthand when a first year teacher in my school struggled to adjust to all the demands of teaching, and isolated herself in her classroom. She was afraid to get help because she felt she would be judged as not enough or incompetent.

After three months, she had a nervous breakdown and had to leave the profession.

This had a HUGE IMPACT on me.

I felt I had not done my part as a “seasoned veteran teacher” to help her.

Small things such as…

Stop by her classroom and see how she was doing.

Ask her how I could support her in her new teacher role.

Encourage, inspire and uplift her…just listen and offer hugs and words of affirmation.

Something, somehow to let her know she was not alone and that we had ALL been there (and maybe some of us still were!)

I decided I needed to do something to help connect with these new teachers and build a supportive school community…as much for the newbies as for those of us who were perhaps struggling with burnout and our own form of isolation.

Now, what does all of this backstory mean and how does it connect to Mother Nature, teachers and this new word “inosculation”?

What I learned from Hasan’s article about inosculation is this:

“Inosculation, a natural wonder, encapsulates the extraordinary process where parts of two distinct trees, often of the same species but not exclusively, grow together, forming an intimate bond through self-grafting and the sharing of life-sustaining nutrients. This botanical phenomenon, with roots in Latin—ōsculārī, meaning “to kiss”—brings to life a narrative of mutual support, resilience, and interconnectedness in the realm of nature.”  

This is what I feel teachers need to do to survive and grow in the current school environment.

Heck, as human beings, we all need to do this every day both at work and at home.

We humans are wired for connection, not isolation.

Didn’t we learn that lesson well during the pandemic?

However, as a result of the culture of competition, constant evaluation/scrutiny and messages of “not enoughness” that is so prevalent in schools today, teachers isolate out of fear that someone will judge them.

Some teachers look at their teammates/colleagues as threats.

Some teachers are negative and judgmental perhaps due to the evaluative nature of the job, assessing and finding all the “wrong” answers that need to be learned and mastered or feeling like they are “under a microscope” by everyone around them.

PLC’s are a result of trying to get teachers to collaborate, make connections and grow together.  

So, what happened? 

It has only created resentment, frustration, competition and some very nasty “Mean Girl” behaviors.

How do we create teacher “inosculation” in schools?

How do we get teachers to “grow together, forming an intimate bond through self-grafting and sharing of those life-sustaining nutrients” such as best practices, effective strategies, materials and resources and shared goals.

How do we get teachers to “bring to life a narrative of mutual support, resilience and interconnectedness”? 

The school culture is everything!

Culture is defined as the shared “products, practices and perspectives” of a group of people based on their values, their environment and their shared goals.

One of the greatest lessons I have every learned in life is the value and power of COMMUNITY!

So, why do we let fear take over and isolate us, when we know well that we are wired for connection?

Why do we run away, hide, disengage or even attack in order to keep others at bay and to protect ourselves from vulnerability and from damage to our fragile Egos?

When that new teacher left the profession after only three months, I thought long and hard about what I could have done differently, but more importantly, what WE, as a school community could have done.

And the answer was to create a school culture that centered around building a community of “mutual support, resilience and interconnectedness”.

To find common things that could bring us together = COMMON+UNITY!

So simple, yet…???

First thing I did was I created a new teacher ceremony that welcomed new teachers to the school and helped them feel like a part of their new community.

The students and I collected donations of school supplies for the new teachers and made gift baskets for each one.

I involved every teacher in the school  to  write a “love note” of advice to the new teacher with words of wisdom, advice, tips and tricks to managing this new school culture they were in.

These “love notes” were then strung together in a paper chain fashion and draped across the blackboard of the new teacher. The instructions were to take one off every day and read it.

We gave the new teachers a list of the current faculty, their room #, phone extension and also a couple of little “getting to know me” insights about each of us.

I sponsored two clubs in high school that did fund raisers to buy gift cards for a “Kindness” incentive program among the teachers. If someone helped us out or went above and beyond in their job, we could fill out a note of gratitude and recognition to share with that teacher (ie. person, because we included staff and volunteers), and then, a part of the note was removed and placed in a box in the office for a chance in a drawing for the gift cards during each faculty meeting.

Teachers did a lot of school wide, cross-curricular projects together.

We reached out to our local community for guest speakers, volunteers, field trips and to send them invitations to attend our school events (concerts, athletics, performances, etc).

Like the trees in the picture, we wrapped our educational arms around each other and extended them out to the community as well in order to create and “eternal embrace” and “extraordinary bond of inosculation”. 

We are creatures of nature, and we forget that because we isolate…indoors, inside ourselves and inside our devices.

Get out, embrace the world and create bonds of “inosculation”.

I hope that you all can figure out a way to build your school community.

What small things can you do toward that goal of COMMON + UNITY?

How can you get out of the classroom and connect with others in the school?

How can you support and “lift up” others in your school?

Where do you need support, encouragement, inspiration and lifting up, and do you know how and where to get it?

I am so worried about the profession and the unprofessional nature in which some teachers are behaving toward each other.

I am so worried about the mental health and well-being of teachers and how much they are isolating or worse yet, shutting down and checking out.

I  am always here for teachers, especially new ones.

I am always here to reach out my arms and embrace, hold up, nudge along with encouraging words, lift up with words of affirmation or whatever other support I can give.

Photo and quotes acknowledgements:

“Nature’s Eternal Embrace: The Extraordinary Bond of Inosculation” by Hasan Jasim

The post Teacher Inosculation appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

A new school year.

A new beginning.

When we start something new, we may need help, support, encouragement, inspiration, resources and materials.

We are building bridges to new connections, new relationships, new learning adventures, new pathways, new opportunities…and so on.

And we may need help doing this.

Teachers do this every.single.year.

They have a reset, restart, renewal to start building those bridges, connections, relationships, etc. again.

They need help. They are “looking for the helpers”, as Mr. Rogers says, for support, encouragements, inspiration, resources, materials, and so on.

Please HELP A TEACHER.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Ask a teacher to share their Amazon Wish List with you, and then, buy something from it. Many of the items are very inexpensive and cost less than a specialty coffee or meal out. Check out the teacher Wish Lists on The Spirit of Teaching’s social media pages that can be found in the sidebar of this blog post page here.

2.  Volunteer at a school and in a classroom. Cut things out for teachers. Help a student who is struggling. Put up the bulletin board. Collate copies.

3.  Bring the teacher a treat and ask about their day. This may give them the chance to be “seen and heard”, which is validating and uplifting. (not a gripe session, but a true heart-to-heart human being connection of the struggles we all have every day on this journey called life!)

4.  Become involved in the PTA and other organizations at the school that support the vision and mission of the school. 

5.  If you own a business, become a community school sponsor that helps support school events and special projects.

6.  Write some notes of encouragement to students and teachers and leave them anonymously in the office to be distributed to the teacher mailboxes for sharing and caring.

7. Now, it’s your turn to think of some way to help a teacher!

It doesn’t take much to make a difference in the life of a teacher!

Please consider helping in some way!

Thank you!

Image credit:

“Macro Monday : Teacher: Explore October 24, 2011” by R Joanne is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The post Please help a Teacher appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

We are all aiming for and expecting that A+, perfection, right?

Even though we say “C” is “average”, we don’t accept nor strive for average.

Everything is about competition and being the BEST!

In the movie, Encanto, which, by the way is a brilliant film with so many underlying meanings and symbolism (like most Disney films) there are several themes addressed: identity, power dynamics, family, generational trauma, healing and forgiveness.

Just a side note, Disney films originated with taking fairy tales, fables and myths from other cultures and turning them into films for story-telling purposes of teaching lessons (like the original intention of these genre of literature).

So, let’s talk about Bruno, even though “we don’t talk about Bruno”!

Bruno represents the perceived “imperfection” of the Madrigal family, and he is willing to talk about it. 

Unfortunately, he is perceived as “not a good person” because of that and is villainized by his family. So, he exiles himself from the family and lives in fear of his own potential.

Identity crisis, power dynamics, generational trauma…

Think of how much this plays out at home and in the classroom every day…with students and with teachers, especially since the pandemic.

Why don’t we talk about these issues? Why can’t we be vulnerable?

When we perceive that we have imperfections or we are told that we do…repeatedly…

we begin to believe them.

Then, what?

We feel like we are not enough and that we cannot do enough to measure up, like Bruno.

We may shut down, armor up, give up, run away, lash out, etc.

Mirabel feels shame because of not “having a gift” and overcompensates by taking care of everyone else in the family. 

Shame and imperfection: Brené Brown is an expert researcher on these two topics.

According to Brené Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, we must let go of the need for perfection and instead cultivate courage, compassion and connection.

Brené says that there are 10 Guideposts to Wholehearted Living. Check them out and print them out for your classroom and for at home: here

No matter what the Standards in education say or the benchmarks of the evaluations, 

teaching is a “work of HEART”.

And we need to get back to what is at the heart of teaching…

to wholehearted teaching and learning. 

I have written about this before in blog posts, my newsletter and in my book Learning Lessons too.

I will not get off that soapbox, and I invite you to check out these resources from Brené.

You can even watch her many, many videos on YouTube here.

Then, ponder what you can do next school year to be more authentic, vulnerable and bring forth the gifts of imperfection in order to cultivate more courage, compassion and connection in the classroom.

This is all a healing salve for the wounds and trauma that are playing out in education today, especially after the pandemic.

Also, here is a great resource for connecting Encanto and SEL for your students – full of downloadable lessons and activities!

Be sure to check out all these resources, and then, come back, and we can TALK ABOUT BRUNO! (or at least listen to the song).

Image credit:  Brené Brown at www.brenebrown.com

The post Imperfections appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

Travel is one of the greatest teachers there is. 

I never traveled until I was eighteen-years-old, which is hard to believe in this day and age.

No, I didn’t grow up in the Stone Age when travel consisted of putting one foot in front of the other. Ha! 

However, I did travel the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which was one of the greatest and most life changing experiences of my life. 

It was basically putting one foot in front of the other.

BUT…it was also about getting out of my head, out of fear and into faith and believing in myself….that I could figure things out and overcome all obstacles.

I once read that travel does that, and that is why so many people love to travel and do so often. 

It makes us use all our senses to live in the present moment in order to take in all the sights, sounds, sensations, emotions, etc. and to experience life to its fullest.

So, how does that work? 

AND more importantly, do I have to travel far or internationally 

or even physically to have this life experience?

Of course, as a language teacher, I am a big fan of travel internationally in order to experience and learn more about culture and language. 

That kind of travel has taught me a lot, both personally and professionally.

But it is costly, and I have been fortunate enough to take student groups abroad and share this travel with them as a sort of second line of “teacher”.

They learn so much more from these experiences than I could ever have taught them in the classroom and from a book.

A lot of teachers travel during the summer in order to learn and gain more experiences that they can then use as resources and as inspiration for lessons in order to pass this knowledge on to their students and broaden their horizons, so to speak.

But what if one can’t afford to travel far or have no one to go with or no resources to do so?

We can travel in other ways, which clearly is not as effective.

However, and more importantly, perhaps taking advantage of the opportunity to travel in our minds and in our souls…to experience and learn more about ourselves…is the more important lesson and the real teacher.

For example, on the Camino, I met a lady who was really lost in life and miserable. 

One night, in the middle of the night, she came across the movie The Way, which is about the experiences and both the inner and outer landscapes of four pilgrims walking the Camino.

She felt the connection. She longed for similar experiences…to get out into Nature. To walk more. To meet more people. To find herself again.

So, she saved and saved until she was able to finally TRAVEL to Spain and start walking the Camino. It was life-changing, as it was for me.

What about books, especially adventure books that travel to faraway lands or even just travel to our inner dimension and get us in touch with our feelings?

LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow encouraged children to do this:

Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It’s in a book
A reading rainbow

I can go anywhere
Friends to know
And ways to grow
A reading rainbow

I can be anything
Take a look
It’s in a book
A reading rainbow (A reading rainbow)
A reading rainbow (A reading rainbow, a reading rainbow)           (credit Reading Rainbow)

We can travel in our minds through meditation or yoga or tai chi or forest sound baths and visualizations.  I actually do this with students and teachers in workshops using a scenic picture and asking them to close their eyes and imagine they are there. 

Next, I ask them to describe what they see in the picture and how that makes them feel. Then, we go bigger picture, and we talk about where that place is, how to get there, what would we say when we get there, who would we meet, what would we do?

Check out some of the resources I have here for these kinds of “spirit/soul” travel experiences.

So, this summer, I hope you are able to travel somewhere and somehow in order to tap into your inner and outer landscape of life experiences and grow from there because travel truly is the greatest teacher!

Perhaps you would like to travel to Spain on the Camino by reading my book, Learning Lessons.

It is available on Amazon, B&N, BAM and all other major booksellers. I hope you check it out!

Image credit:

“Globe-Map-Suitcase-Travel-1800×2880” by Will Spark is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The post Travel as Teacher appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

It is the end of another school year for most.

It is a beginning of the summer break, warmer temps and travel.

May is not just the fifth month of the calendar year, however.

It is also a verb, from the Old English mæg “am able”.

We use the word “may” also to ask permission…an old favorite of teachers everywhere.

Student – “Can I go to the bathroom?”

Teacher – “I don’t know, can you?”

After a confused look or eye roll from the student, the teacher then replies: “Yes, you MAY go to the bathroom”.

So, why am I going on and on about the word “may”?

Because I want to send teachers off into their summer with 
some permissions, abilities and “may days” (as opposed to “may daze”).

Summer list of MAYs for teachers:

#1 – Do what you MAY and don’t ask permission to do whatever you need to do for yourself, your family, your friends in order to re-connect with everything that is important in your relationships.

#2 – Remember that you are capABLE and that you are ABLE to do whatever you want over the summer to recharge your batteries, rejuvenate your teacher SPIRIT and set the course for another great school year ahead.

#3 – Come what MAY, you get to hit “re-set” in August (or September) and start anew.

If you choose to do absolutely nothing or to just do schoolwork over the summer, you will end up going back to school in the Fall in a DAZE, from late 14c., dasen, “be stunned; make bewildered,” perhaps from Old Norse *dasa (compare dasask “to become weary.”  (etymonline.com)

Also, we don’t want to send out a “MAY DAY” signal of distress and S.O.S. because you didn’t prioritize yourself and your needs over the summer so that you could come back to school in tip top shape, matey!

So, start making your MAY DAYS list now for your summer FUN times!

I hope teachers spend their summer in JOY and practice the three R’s of summer:

REST, RELAX, REJUVENATE

The post May Days appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

I didn’t know what that meant at the time or exactly how to describe it because really I was focused on my poor health and inability to walk very far without my legs giving out on me.

I left the profession “broken” both physically and mentally.

I literally had “fallen”, and I could’t get up.

I was lost with no sense or real direction(s).

So, when I walked across Spain on the Camino Francés, with each step I took and each person I met and each experience I had, I learned a lesson.

And these lessons eventually led me back to my true teaching SPIRIT.

I wanted to share the lessons from my journey with others, especially teachers, to somehow help them find their way back to their true SPIRIT.

I founded The Spirit of Teaching, created a website of resources and started a podcast called Teacher Tales in which teachers can tell their stories of teaching and what makes up a true teaching SPIRIT.

Of course being a teacher and in the field of education, I developed an acronym to help remember the qualities and aspirations of a true teaching SPIRIT (which is why it is capitalized and really should have periods in between each letter).

They can be found on this website and shared with others.

Check them out here.  

Print them out and put them in your plan book.

Journal about them.

Post the mantras and “yellow arrow” guides around your classroom, home, office, car, etc.

There are even more resources that can help guide you and keep you on your intended path.

Check them out here.

You also might want to purchase my book Learning Lessons which is a real treasure trove of insight, resources, guidance and activities that you can use to help inspire and guide you back to your own True Self and the teaching SPIRIT in all of us!

Link to purchase Learning Lessons.

Photo credit:

created by Linda Markley in Canva

The post The Teacher SPIRIT appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

More and more teachers are leaving the classroom.

Teacher burnout, anxiety and health related issues are at an all time high.

As well, fewer and fewer people are choosing to enter the teaching profession.

You can check out some of the stats and data here:

Reluctantly, I left the teaching profession due to a serious illness brought on by the stress I was experiencing in my position.

It took me a few years to recover physically, however, I still needed to heal mentally and in my teacher spirit.

So, I decided to walk across Spain on the Camino Francés, alone!
It was a pilgrimage of the body, mind and spirit with each step I took (usually 15-20 miles per day!)
Time for reflection, soul-searching, self-discovery, interpersonal connections and many, MANY lessons that would heal the deep wounds I had experienced on my life’s journey, both in and out of the classroom.

How do we learn lessons in life?
What are the best ways for students to learn lessons in the classroom?
And finally, how do the lessons we learn create our path in life?

I discovered the answers to these questions (and so many more!) during my walk across Spain, and I would like to share the lessons I learned with all of you.  Please read on…

A heartfelt labor of love, I decided to tell my story in the form of a book. Learning Lessons is about my journey as a teacher, as a student and as a human being walking life’s path.

We stumble, we fall and we lose our way.
So, how do we get back up, try again and find our path on our lifelong learning journey?

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“Life is a journey of lessons. There is no test, no failure, no right answer, no curriculum. The only standards are the ones that come from the true spirit of our common humanity. We are forever teachers and students on this learning journey of life. My hope is that by sharing some of my life lessons as a teacher and as a student, I can help support and inspire others on their learning journey of curiosity, self-discovery, connections, reflection and enlightenment so that they too might find their song and share it with the world.

So, this is my learning journey and the lessons that led me back home to my true sprit. This is my love song to the child in each of us who falls down, gets lost, confused, frustrated, afraid and overwhelmed, but who is just trying to figure things our, step-by-step, one lesson at a time, to find their way in the world.”

This book is not only for teachers, but also for anyone who has lost their way and is seeking their way back “home” to their true self, to peace and to self-love and acceptance.

It is a book of inspiration and hope and healing through the story it tells, but also through the activities at the end of each chapter that help the reader personally reflect on the lesson learned and then, make an interpersonal connection to others.

You can buy the book NOW by using this link…click here.

OR you can pre-order your copy through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and over 300 book distributors online for a release date of May 15th.

Thank you,  and as they say to the pilgrims on the Camino: Buen viaje!

Photo credit:

Learning Lessons by Linda Markley

The post Learning Lessons appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

They got a kick out of that, but honestly and truly, I felt that I was a model for them in everything that I said and did every day.

The word “model” can mean many things today, but mostly we use it to refer to someone in the fashion industry or when we refer to cars/appliances/ technology.

One of the definitions of “model” is “a system or thing used as an example to follow or imitate”.

The etymology of the word is from Latin, modulus, meaning “a standard for imitation or comparison.”  (etymonline.com)

So, as teachers, we are setting a “standard for imitation” for our students to follow. 

Our words, our actions, our tone, our body language, our choices, our everything.

So, this could go either way.

If we yell, disrespect and dismiss our students, we are modeling and setting a standard for them to imitate and do the same to us and others.

If we speak kindly, thoughtfully and see and hear our students, we are modeling and setting a standard for them to imitate and do the same to us and others.

This happens everywhere, not only in the classroom. 

As teachers, we are not just role models to children, but also as humans, we are role models to other humans.

Let me give a few real world examples I have experienced.

The other day, my husband and I were walking in the park, which was littered with trash because of flag football practice that had been held there over the weekend.

It is frustrating and aggravating to see all the trash, especially when it blows in the water where it pollutes and endangers the animals living in that habitat.

It is easy to get indignant, angry and just complain saying things like: “what is wrong with people? Why can’t they pick up their trash? Why aren’t the park personnel picking up the trash? That’s their job they are being paid for! And so on…”

Instead of going to that negative place in our heads, we decided instead to take action and get a plastic bag and start picking up trash along our walk route.

Other walkers noticed and either avoided eye contact out of shame or they thanked us and picked up a few things to add to our bag.

A couple of other walkers declared: “that’s a great idea! I think I will bring a plastic bag tomorrow.”

But the best part was that there was a group of young men playing soccer on the field, and they noticed what we were doing.

They shouted “thank you”, stopped their practice and started picking up trash that they had just been running past or jumping over while playing.

Modeling…it’s powerful!

In the classroom, I modeled kind behavior, good manners and thoughtful gestures.

We wrote thank you notes to chaperones after field trips thanking them for taking the time to help make the experience possible.

When we did projects or presentations, I would state a positive affirmation or compliment to the presenter and then, encourage every student in the class to also do the same.

We had a “Kind Hearts” board where students could write a little note of recognition for something a student did or said that was kind, thoughtful and inspiring.

We did service learning projects to help others in the community.

We had a “share” table where students could share supplies, materials, food, etc. for students in need or who might have come unprepared to class for some reason or another.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Children are always watching and listening, even when we think they aren’t.

They are not born into this world knowing everything or even wanting to know things sometimes. 

We think we are not making a difference or teaching them anything sometimes, but when we least expect it or when we give them a chance, if we have been modeling behaviors we expect, then, they will be mirrored back to us.

“Picking up Trash” by Kulturlabor Trial&Error is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

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As we move into a new calendar year and the second half of another school year, I wanted to reflect a little with you about our differences.

The great Fred Rogers once said:

“Something else children need is the understanding that 

every person is 

DIFFERENT.

With that understanding can come children’s appreciation

of their own differences and the courage to 

be who they are – 

each one different from everybody else.”

Sometimes variations of this word DIFFERENT can get confusing in education and in how it is implemented into a school’s best practices.

There is an enormous focus and demand for DIFFERENTiation in the classroom as a result of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act).

We need to meet a student where they are. Then, we can figure out and accommodate all the different ways that child learns and succeeds. We don’t want to leave any child behind, and we do want them to succeed. 

However, I feel that what is said and what is practiced in education sometimes are very far apart. In fact, they are usually quite opposite.

I am a like a broken record now with voicing my perspective that we are preaching out of the box, differentiated and accommodating strategies for learning, YET…we are standardizing everything and expecting every child to jump into the same box WE have created for them.

AND, there is now a current trend to allow for fewer and fewer differences among children. 

There is even legislation being passed to not allow children to see something or someone different from themselves because of fear of indoctrinating them to a different way of thinking or being.

It is a fact that our brain is wired to see differences first before similarities. Perhaps that is so that we can be curious to learn more about those differences rather than be afraid of them?

Or is it for survival – what is different is a threat to my safety, well being, etc.?

As Fred Rogers says, it takes COURAGE, and as we know, there is a lot of fear permeating the walls of the classroom today.

So, how can we differentiate as well as allow for differences in the classroom 

in order to create a more nurturing, supportive learning environment 

for children (and teachers, for that matter!) and therefore,

MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

As a former World Languages and ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, I have always been fascinated and curious about other cultures and languages.

There is no doubt that my exposure to other cultures and languages has made me who I am today. Being able to experience how other people live and express themselves has opened my heart and my perspective to go beyond the small, limiting, homogenous community in which I grew up.

When I was in 6th grade, we got an ELL student from Ecuador named Alejandro. He spoke very little English, wore dress pants and collared shirt (like Sunday dress), had a dark complexion and dark eyes and was very shy and reserved. He was different. AND he needed the curriculum to be differentiated to meet him where he was. 

There was also a young many named Jimmy, white, American born and raised, yet he struggled with language processing in English, both speaking and writing. He was also very slow to catch on to a concept and would give up quickly, only soon to become a behavior problem for the teacher. He was different. AND he needed the curriculum to be differentiated to meet him where he was.

There was also a girl in my class named Melissa who was a Jehovah’s Witness, and she was not allowed to sing or learn square dancing or participate in any of the holiday celebrations. She was different. AND he needed the curriculum to be differentiated to meet her where she was.

And finally, one of my best friends in 6th grade was a girl named Beth who was legally blind and had to leave the class for part of instructional time to work one-on-one with a teacher from the nearby school for the deaf and blind. She also needed special materials and an assistant to help in class. She was different. AND she needed the curriculum to be differentiated to meet her where she was.

I remember thinking, as a peer to all these children in 6th grade, that they were different than me, but I was not afraid of them. I was curious and wanted to learn more about them. I didn’t judge them for their different needs, but instead, wanted them to have them in order to feel good about themselves, included and supported in the class and inspired to learn and grow (aka = become successful!)  

Moreover, I perceived their differences not as a threat to my own identity or abilities, but as an opportunity to learn from them and subsequently, adjust my “lenses” in order to better see the world around me and how I fit in to that world. What if I were blind, what would I need? What if I didn’t speak English and no one understood me, what would I need? You get the picture.

I discovered that through this self-reflection and inquiry, I could “fit in” and find my place next to them through compassion, empathy, love, understanding, grace and acceptance. 

I strongly feel that I have learned so much more about myself when I have been able to look at others who are different from me and then, to learn from them. To gain new perspectives and broaden my horizons. To sharpen my lenses for more clarity to see myself and my place in the world and my connection to humanity.

It gives my perspective more breadth, depth and meaning. It strengthens my connection to the world and provides for a deeper, richer experience in life.

This is how learning in the classroom should be. Personal, meaningful and connected to the bigger picture of the world. 

More open-ended activities, project-based learning, explore and discover center-based learning or Kagan style cooperative learning activities. 

When planning, we should take from a diverse, broad spectrum of resources instead of scripted multiple choice/True-False, fill-in-the-blank answers to questions and concepts/content that have no connection to the student nor to the world in which they live.

We are not allowing for higher order thinking or processing (even though we are preaching this too!)…just memorized facts for regurgitation or workbook activities for “drill and kill” practice that we hope will eventually lead to learning. It reminds me of the scene in a Christmas Story when Randy doesn’t want to eat what is for dinner.

We put students on a computer and create activities where they interact with information in a all-or-nothing, right or wrong system that doesn’t allow for creativity nor interaction with other students to even possibly explore different perspectives or exchange different information.

It really scares me so much all the regulation and control that is going on in the classroom today…all the “screwdriver and plumber’s helper” that is being implemented into schools. 

My hope is that every teacher, everywhere can find a way to use some of those strategies I previously mentioned in order to allow for differences and differentiation in the classroom.

Whether teachers are afraid to deviate from the book and prescribed curriculum or they just don’t have the energy or knowledge to be able to create activities and experiences for their students to explore different possibilities, who is to say?

I can only hope and pray and beg that someday we will find a way in education to differ because, you know, as a teacher, “I have a dream!” for each and every child!

Image credit:

“A Different Group 109/365” by Louish Pixel is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The post I Beg to Differ appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

We have all been working hard for almost 18 weeks now trying to teach, learn and achieve goals.

We have had good days.

We have had bad days.

We have had ups.

We have had downs.

We have had fun.

We have had drama.

We have been sad, happy, angry, frustrated and all around the emotional block many times…in one day even!

Just like a story playing out in a movie.

The classroom is a reflection of life and the world we live in.

The question is…will we make our story this semester into a horror story, a drama, a comedy, a tale of super-human powers or will we choose to make it a love story with a happy ending?

It IS the season of Hallmark movies, you know!

There is a lot of push-back about toxic positivity in education.

There is also a lot of push-back about calling teachers heroes.

Nonetheless, I will always be in the positive charge for energy in the classroom.

AND, I also know a lot about the Hero’s Journey as described by Joseph Campbell, and I will always believe that each and every one of us is the hero of our own story and journey in life.

So, how can we have a happy ending to this first semester, even though it may not have met all our expectations or we haven’t met all our goals or the students have not measured up to our standards?

We CHOOSE to find all the GOOD that has happened during this first semester and put all that in the WIN COLUMN indicated by a ++++++++++++charge.

Then, we celebrate!

Next, we put all the things that we feel got “lost” along the way or left behind in our learning journey, and we prioritize those for the next semester.

We also let go of what didn’t serve us or the students well.

We let go of what doesn’t really matter in the bigger picture of learning.

We focus on finding more ways to create a +++++++++ charge in ourselves and in our students.

We ALL have the ability to change the script of our lives and to create a happy ending, no matter what.

Like  the movie camera, we may need to change the lens, zoom in or zoom out, re-focus.

Like in a movie, we get a chance for re-takes and doing our scenes over and over and over until we get them “right” or the way we want to show up on the big screen of life.

We are the screenwriter, director, producer, actor, editor and promoter of our own movie.

We are teachers, and as such, we can write that happy ending to our love story for children. 

That’s why we got into the “biz” in the first place, right?

Best wishes for a happy ending for 2023 and an even better script ahead in 2024!

“Revere Eight movie camera 1946” by Nesster is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post Happy Endings appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

The end of the semester race, crunch and sprint.

We kind of get into our flow by October, but by the time November rolls around, we face many hurdles ahead.

1. Thanksgiving 
2. Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza
3. Semester exams 
4. Semester grades
5. New Year and Admin visits/evaluations

WHEW! Did I just ramp up your stress level by a million percent?

Not intended, but just a list of the reality teachers face in the months of November and December.

AS IF their plates were not already full or even overflowing with “all the things” teachers have to do, but THEN, to add all the extra things that the holidays bring with them.

Crowded stores, tightening budget, lack of sleep, very limited time/money/sanity/energy…

Overflow of stress from kids and their parents dealing with their own holiday stressors.

All the food, sweets and holiday parties tempting us around every corner.

YIKES!

Sounds like teachers really could use a C.A.R.E. package to rescue them during Nov. and Dec.

So, what can we do to care for teachers during this time?

AND more importantly, what can teachers do to C.A.R.E. for themselves as things crank up during Nov. and Dec.?

For teachers, we hear a lot about self-care with a wealth of ideas of how to do that throughout the school year.

BUT, for this especially stressful time of year, I would like to suggest this special kind of C.A.R.E.

C = COMFORT  

Only do those things that bring you comfort and joy. You know, those things that are self-soothing, validating, inspiring and calm the central nervous system and warm your heart and soul. Spend quality time with yourself and with your loved ones above all – give yourself permission to do this and to let go of some of those things from school. You have already been giving 200% during Aug – Oct.

A = AUTHENTICITY

Authentic means “true”, “real” and what is “authored by me”. Tap into the REAL meaning of teaching, the holidays and tune into your TRUE SELF. Make sure your decisions align with what is REAL important to you and don’t get caught up in too much of the spirit of giving. Teachers are generous in heart and can overextend easily. Set boundaries that will help you stay TRUE to your heart.

R = RECOGNIZE

Be aware of your limits and give yourself permission to set boundaries. Recognize what you, your students, your colleagues, your admin and your loved ones are capable of and don’t demand more of them that is necessary. Recognize and acknowledge that it is a stressful time of year and that we are ALL doing the BEST we can…in school, out of school, on the roads, in the stores, in our hearts. Sometimes we go unconscious for a moment of two when we are stressed, but KINDNESS will ALWAYS awaken the holiday spirit and reap many gifts of peace, love and joy!

E = ENERGIZE

Do whatever recharges your batteries and helps you stay balanced and moving forward. Don’t allow other to drain your batteries with too many demands, negativity, projections or any other toxic behaviors. Find your energy in the warmth and glow of those you choose to have surround you. Drink in kindness and let it fill your heart so that it grows three sizes, like that of the Grinch.  We cannot give away what we don’t have, so we must remember to keep our own cup filled first before we can fill that of others.

Finally, here are some links to sites that prepare CARE PACKAGES to send to others…or maybe even to send one to ourselves.

Amazon   

Spoon Full of Comfort 

Care Crates    

New York Times list of BEST Care Packages  

Image credit:

“care package to go back to school” by BellaGaia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The post C.A.R.E. Packages appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

Most of us, who will admit it, have experienced the feelings of overwhelm.

This word, OVERWHELMED, is probably one of the most common words teachers use to describe teaching today.

Teachers are overwhelmed.

Students are overwhelmed.

Administrators are overwhelmed.

Parents are overwhelmed.

The etymology of the word overwhelmed is from Old English overwhelmen

     over = to turn upside down +  whelmen = to submerge completely

Yep, that pretty much describes life in the classroom today.

Everyone and everything seems turned upside down, and life as we know it in the classroom will never be the same, especially since the pandemic.

AND, everyone feels like they are submerged and drowning and not even treading water anymore.

etymonline.com states that “perhaps the connecting notion of being overwhelmed is a boat, etc., washed over, and overset, by a big wave. In a figurative sense of ‘to bring to ruin’ is attested from 1520s.” 

I’m getting a visual…stormy, rough seas, small boat, alone and adrift with little to no crew to help keep the boat upright, a big wave of walking the plank-jumping ship-betrayal-mutiny, the feeling of being in the doldrums with no breath of inspiration or compass of hope to guide us safely and surely to our destination.

How do we keep from getting overwhelmed by everything going on outside of the classroom and outside of ourselves?

How do we navigate the stormy seas of teaching (and life)?

What can we do about the tsunami that keeps us submerged with feelings of drowning and gasping for air or the feelings of abandoning ship or the feelings of mutiny and betrayal that can come up in our daily interactions with students, colleagues, admin and especially with parents?

Extending the metaphor a little further about a tsunami, stormy seas, rough waters, etc., we can reframe and reset our nervous system with just a few strategies:

#1 – Remember that it will end and not be forever. Seas are not always rough and storms, even tsunamis and hurricanes, dissipate eventually. Smooth waters, sunshine and light will return. AND, there is always a rainbow to enjoy at the end of every storm!

#2 – Hang on and tap into the calm that is in the bottom of that deep blue ocean called YOU. The storm and rough seas are only at the surface, but go far enough below the surface,      and all is calm, peaceful and serene. Do deep breathing, meditate, tap, ground yourself by taking a walk around the classroom and tap into the good you see and feel.

#3 –  Let go of the wheel and let someone else navigate and take the helm. It could lead to adventure and perhaps an island of paradise! Be flexible, curious and open to all possible routes, courses and conditions.

#4 –  Once you feel balanced, righted and on course again, celebrate and congratulate yourself  on weathering the storm of emotions that came up during the stormy event. Look into the calm waters and see the reflection of who you really are and how you really want to show up in the world.

#5 –   Keep sailing and learning how to become a Master and Commander of your own ship. Practice self-care and self-love. Teachers give so much of themselves to others, and it is easy to get overwhelmed when we are not tending to our own needs, hopes and dreams instead of always fulfilling that of others.  Course correct, as needed, and don’t resist the winds of life that are pushing you in a certain direction. Listen to your heart! 

#6 –   Shine your light on the world like a beacon of hope and a lighthouse of refuge for others who are weathering their own storms. When we help others, especially children, we heal ourselves.

Photo credit:

“Calusd Carl -Armenian 1860 -Rowing boat on stormy sea” by wl.glazewski is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The post Overwhelmed? appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

I’ve done many blog posts on creating a more positive, nurturing, courteous, friendly, civil classroom or school culture.

I am going to take another pass at it again, but this time, through the lens of a classroom or school culture as it relates to a civilization.

The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, was once asked by a student what she thought were the first signs of a civilization in an ancient culture.

One would expect her to answer with things like pottery, tools or everyday objects like statues or jewelry or utensils.

Well, much to everyone’s surprise, Margaret Mead replied that the first sign of a civilization in an ancient culture is actually found in a broken human femur bone that has healed. 

What? Quoi? Huh?

AND how does this relate to this blog topic of “educational civility and citizenship”?

Margaret went on to explain that in ancient cultures and the animal kingdom, which dominated in these cultures, if you broke your femur (thighbone), you die because you are not able to run away from danger, hunt or meet your basic survival needs of food and shelter.

So, a broken femur bone that has healed is evidence that someone stayed with you and helped you. They carried you to safety and tended to the wound and to your needs through the healing process, which takes time.

This is the same in the classroom and in a school.

Teachers, staff, administrators, parents and an entire community needs to help and support each other. 

It is not about the survival of the fittest or who is recognized as Teacher of the Year or who is further ahead in the book or who has the highest student test scores or a higher degree or…you get the picture!

Competition, egos and “every man for himself” mentality has created a classroom/school culture of toxic behaviors that are slowing poisoning the educational system.

What we need is a more cooperative, collaborative, affable, courteous and friendly culture of civility toward ourselves and each other.

No more defensiveness.

No more passive-aggressiveness.

No more attacking, accusing or throwing each other under the bus.

No more pitting one teacher, student, parent, admin, etc against each other.

No more spying, tattling, undermining, gossiping, showing favoritism.

No more jealousy, resentments, anger and other toxic behaviors that spark and promote a negative attitudes and behaviors.

WE ALL HAVE (metaphorical) BROKEN FEMURS…especially after the pandemic!

We all have wounds that need to heal.

This requires time, kindness, compassion, empathy, love, grace, equanimity and a whole lot of positive, nurturing healing “balms”.

Check out some of them here and add them to your daily lesson plans and intentions.

To be a citizen of a civilization means that you feel a PART of that culture and that you feel like you BELONG there.

Maybe, just maybe, THEN, this school culture will advance to a civilization of enlightened, educated, empowered citizens!

Margaret Mead’s final comment to the student was this:

“Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization begins”.

Wow…just WOW!!!

You can read more about the amazing and wise Margaret Mead here.

Image credit:

Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

The post Educational Civility and Citizenship appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

One of those reasons is classroom behavior…BOTH teacher and student behavior.

The pressures, demands, excessive expectations, negative and hostile culture in which many teachers and students find themselves these days are causing behavior in the classroom to also get out of control.

In a school district in Florida, a large group of teachers quit stating that student behavior was out of control and unbearable. 

Since then, many prominent persons in the district, including the sheriff and local school board members have publicly stated their opinions about students in the district. These opinions have included many “childish” behaviors such as name calling and suggestions for “whipping students’ a****”.

As adults, we must be the role models for children, and this kind of behavior is just not acceptable.

Teaching is the hardest job there is nowadays!

So many critics and so little respect. Too many expectations and not enough support.

 And being a kid is hard too with all the pressures from social media, high stakes testing and socio-economic challenges at home.

All of these pressures are playing out in the classroom and manifesting in extreme human behaviors like violence, insolence, aggression, belligerence and defiance stemming from human emotions such as anger, frustration, anxiety, depression, sadness, grief, fear, jealousy, rejection and especially an overwhelming feeling of not being or doing enough.

What can we do as teachers, as parents, as ADULTS to help turn
this classroom behavior around from a negative to a positive?

And YES…IT STARTS WITH US!!!

The word behavior derives from the Middle English word havour, meaning possession and related to the Old French aveir, to have.       

Taking a closer look at the verb, to behave, we see that it is a reflexive verb from the French se porter (also the Spanish comportarse).

So, what does all this mean?

A reflexive verb means that the action of the verb reflects back onto the subject or person.

As well, porter or portar means to carry.

So, literally, behavior is how we “carry ourselves” through life.

Behaviors derive from choices we make and the actions we take.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, there is something called a Behavior Chain:

Trigger  –  Thought  –  Action  –  Consequence  

And so much can get distorted or derail in that sequence, especially when stress and outside pressures come into play.

Negative input leads to negative thoughts… leads to negative actions…

leads to negative consequences and behaviors..

There is way too much negativity in schools and outside of schools today!

We have got to turn the negative out and bring the positive in.

To use an old cliché, we must BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE in the world.

To break the pattern of behaviors from negative to positive, we must develop new habits in the classroom.

Habits that nurture and accentuate the positive. Things like kind words, kind thoughts, kind actions, kind behaviors.

I would LOVE to see Longfellow’s poem posted in the front of every classroom and in the lesson plan book of every teacher:

“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.”

 Maybe in an environment like this, both teachers and students would feel more respected, valued, loved and calm. 

Maybe the pressure would be off and they could relax and not be triggered by negativity.

Maybe with love and kindness, behaviors would change.

Again, as hard as it may be, if we are determined enough to change, we can.

We just need to start with a conscious choice to have kind thoughts, kind actions and kind consequences –  behaviors.

I’m holding on to hope because without hope, we give up.

Here’s to kinder, more nurturing and supportive classroom behaviors starting now!

Check out these resources and inspiration to help teachers and students get into the true  school SPIRIT!

“Classroom Rules Poster” by BarbaraLN is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. 

The post Classroom Behavior appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

Even though it is still summer break, teachers are already either attending professional development over the summer. Or they are already planning for their professional development in the upcoming year during pre-planning or during the designated district PD Days.

I have noticed a trend in social media posts that are lashing out about trainers or mentors for professional development who have not been in the classroom in recent years.

I can read the frustration and resentment between the lines of these posts and totally understand and respect them.

In fact, much of the overwhelming negativity that comes from teachers I can understand and respect. I get human nature and the life of teaching, no matter what decade we are talking about.

HOWEVER, as some teachers become more and more aggressive about voicing these frustrations, I am compelled to offer a different perspective.

For some teachers, their Ego tells them: “I already know everything I need to know and no one else is going to tell me how to teach.”

For some teachers, their anxiety tells them: “I have so much to do and am barely keeping up with what I already know how to do. I can’t take on another new trick or another new thing on my plate.”

For some teachers, their resentment tells them: “Not many professions require employees to spend their time seeking professional development in order to keep their license and/or credentials, so why should I?’ 

For some teachers, their anger tells them: “You don’t know me or the kids I teach, so you can’t offer anything that is going to help. You are just wasting my time.”

I could go on, but you get the picture.

So, what could possibly be a perspective that would help allay the negativity that is associated with attending a professional development day/session, especially one led by a teacher who has not been in the classroom in the last several years?

First of all, teachers tend to think of themselves as the “experts” on given topics, strategies, methods, etc. as a result of their study, education and confirmation via a (usually higher) degree.

This means that they have “expertise”, right?

The etymology of the word expertise is from Latin experitus meaning “tried, proved and known by experience”. 

There is an old saying that “experience is the best teacher”, so if a teacher has years and years of experience that they are bringing to a day of professional development, then that is valuable, right?

Sometimes teachers are looking for the “perfect” lesson plan that will be the “little purple pill” that will cure all that is (F)ailing in the classroom.

Or they may be looking for the latest video, technology or “hat trick” to enhance their teaching and hook the kids more into the content.

Teachers who have not been in the classroom for a few years may not know nor have used some of these latest tips or tricks.

I will also acknowledge here that I have attended professional development sessions as a teacher in which I walked away not really knowing more or feeling like I had gained a whole lot of new, useful knowledge.

HOWEVER, I can say that I have ALWAYS learned from the relationships I have developed from interacting with others at the PD (professional development) day, including the presenter! 

Sharing and caring have always been the most valuable experiences 
that I have gleaned from PD days. 

Being able to reach out to someone who understands what I am going through and who can listen with empathy, validation and support = priceless.

Listening to the stories of others, albeit colleagues and/or the presenter/trainer, and know that I am not alone or the only one on the “Struggle Bus” = priceless.

Sharing successes, lessons and ideas with others and receiving the same to add to my “Teacher Treasure Box” for future inspiration and a boost of encouragement = priceless.

Then, there are the all the lessons I taught, students/parents/admin with whom I have interacted and the lessons I have learned from all of those experiences that have guided me to become a better teacher and human being.

Whether we agree with mandatory professional development or not, there is ALWAYS something to learn from our experiences and interactions with others.

We are ALL both teachers and learners on this journey we call life, both in and out of the classroom.

I have not met a perfect human being who is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

Last I checked, those qualities are reserved for God or gods or a Higher Power.

A context of connection and community provide us with powerful opportunities to learn and to also help encourage, inspire and support others.

So, instead of entering a professional development day/session with dread and a negative bias, try to reframe it as an opportunity to be a teacher and a learner…to be human.

The person leading the training is not an expert nor god-like.

Be humble enough to realize that neither are you, even though in front of a classroom of students, teachers may feel like they are experts and god-like.

Be human, open, vulnerable and willing to share and care.

Someday YOU will be that teacher with a lot of experience and years of teaching practice (practice being the key word and not perfection!). And if you still have a heart and love for the profession, you will want to share with others the lessons you have learned both as a teacher and as a student in life.

Be kind, respectful, receptive and all those qualities 

you would want in a student sitting in front of you!

Image credit:

“Teachers” by goldberg is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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His perspective is from the business world and being a manager/administrator who did annual “reviews” of his employees.

First of all, they called them “reviews”, which is perhaps more appealing than “evaluations”.

Evaluation = from the Latin valere meaning to be of value or worth.

Instead of reviewing or taking another view(point) or look at the person’s performance over the past year with the intention of deciding what went well and what needs to change (plus-delta approach)…

…it seems that what administrators are being asked to do is determine what “value” to place on a teacher or decide what that teacher is “worth”.

I prefer a different model for reviewing or evaluating people’s participation and performance in an event called the “plus-delta” approach.

Technically, the “plus-delta” model was designed and developed by the aviation and medical industries as a debriefing system for meetings, simulations and practices.

This approach uses more “improvement” oriented language rather than language that may be considered too negative, judgmental and discouraging. 

How could the delta-plus model be better implemented in education, 

especially for teacher evaluations?

This is how the plus-delta model works:

Once I learned about this model, I embraced it and started to use it for so many things.

I used it to guide me during the National Board Certification process.

I used it for parent conferences.

I used it for Board meetings with professional organizations.

I used it in the classroom with students.

I used it to mentor new teachers.

I used it for every situation that required reflection and continuous improvement.

Hmmmm….maybe it can be used for just about every situation in life, both in and out of the classroom.

We are not perfect, and as human beings, we can only seek to keep learning and growing in our knowledge, skills, choices and actions in life.

Focusing on the negative, the mistakes, the perceived failures, the “less than” and “not enough” aspects of ourselves just keeps us stuck there with feelings of frustration, overwhelm and sometimes even hopelessness.

Most teacher evaluations today are based on Marzano and Danielson. These names have become almost dreaded by most teachers because they see these teacher evaluation models as really just a checklist of “gotchas” and what teachers are NOT doing rather than what they are doing.

There really is no room for true self-reflection and empowerment on the part of the teacher either.

In one of my early Teacher Tales podcasts #4, my guest (and friend), Norah talks about the most powerful thing that her first administrator did for her as a teacher. 

Check it out  here:

Norah said that after her first administrator visited her classroom to “evaluate” her, she thought about how things didn’t go perfectly and started focusing in on her defense and even beating herself up a bit about it.

Well, much to her surprise, the kind and caring administrator asked Norah what she thought went well with the lesson, and THEN, asked her what she would have done differently or would do to change the lesson and make it even better.

That was a kind of “plus-delta” approach with positive, improvement-focused language that encouraged and empowered Norah to reflect and decide what worked well and wanted to keep doing and what she wanted to improve.

I wish more administrators would adopt this approach.

I wish more teachers would adopt this approach with their students.

Shoot, I wish we would take this approach more in every aspect of life…with ourselves and with others.

What a wonderful world this would be then? Am I right, Louis Armstrong?

Image credit:

“Debrief – plus delta from the workshop” by Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

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I know you all can’t wait for summer.

Time to rest, recharge, and reset for the next school year only a short three months away.

That’s what I call the 3 R’s of Summer:  REST, RECHARGE and RESET.

REST – let your body rest, relax and rejuvenate through self-care routines. Dial back your “go-go-go” mode and tune in to a “resting” heart rate free from stress and overexertion.

RELAX – chill out and let go of all those coulda, woulda, shoulda’s from your school year brain and mentality. Nothing is “on fire”, “urgent” or “needs immediate attention”.

RESET – do things that will bring on a general reset on your life in order to get back to equanimity, balance and a more leveled path to travel rather than riding the ups and downs of a roller-coaster of a school year.

Actually, I think there are a few other essential “R”s beside these obvious ones. 

What could those be?

REFLECT – reflect back on the past year and write it in a journal or new lesson plan book…what went well and what needs to change in the upcoming year. 

What do you want your school year to look like?

What do you want your classroom culture to look like?

What action steps and boundaries do you need to set in order to make this a reality?

REJUVENATE – rejuvenate comes from a French word meaning to make youthful again. 

What is making you feel old and tired in your daily routine? Try to change it and breathe new life into it.

What old and outdated strategies, lessons and mindsets do you need to rejuvenate and bring forward to meet your new and youthful students where they are?

How can you think like a student and what their world is like in order to take on more youthful approach to your teaching?

REGENERATE – this means to invigorate, recreate, reawaken, change, uplift and regrow

Like rejuvenate, how can you bring more life and joy back to teaching (and learning, for your students)?

What can you change about yourself, your context, your mindset that will help uplift you?

What is stagnate and needs to be changed in order for growth to occur?

What needs to be awakened in you again in order to feel invigorated in what you do every day in the classroom and to keep you from burnout and at risk of leaving the profession?

So, as you enter your days of summer break from school, I hope you will not only practice the 3 R’s of REST, RELAX and RESET away from the daily grind of school (out of sight, out of mind?), but rather that you also take some time to ponder the other 3 R’s of  REFLECT, REJUVENATE and REGENERATE in order to set the groundwork for a healthier, happier and more sustainable school year 2023-2024. It’ll be here before we know it!

Image credit:

“Letter R” by ThreeBytesFull is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

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According to a Poe.com, a permanent record is:

“a collection of student’s academic and personal information, such as grades, attendance, disciplinary actions and other details that are kept on file by the school. The purpose of these records is to provide a comprehensive history of the student’s educational experience, which can be used for a variety of purposes, such as college applications, job references or other academic opportunities.”

I have always been curious as to why we call these records “permanent” because don’t we want students to learn, grow, change, evolve and move forward on their path in life, academically and personally?

It also flies a little in the face of my linguistic and etymological sense of the word as well as my spiritual belief about nothing being permanent.

The word permanent is from the Latin word permanentem, meaning “enduring, unchanging, lasting indefinitely”.

The learning journey of a student seems to me like it should change, grow and continue throughout a lifetime. 

Learning is not a one-and-done thing. 

Don’t we talk about creating “lifelong learners” in education all the time?!

So, why, again, would we call these permanent records?

Let’s look at the word record.

For record (noun), I think of an LP album which is round and turns around and around in circles.

Is this like a learning cycle or like when content is spiraled throughout the learning journey?

When we look at the verb form to record (different pronunciation – ah, English!), it comes from the French word recorder, which means “to tell, repeat or recite”.

Well that seems about right in education!

Teachers do a lot of telling, students do a lot of repeating and reciting…not the best practices, for sure!

Words are powerful, and can be interpreted in many ways.

Again, one part of the lens through which I see the world and my place in it!

I strongly feel that we need to change the name of folder with a “student’s academic and personal information” throughout their K-12 learning journey to something that aligns more with what we are really envisioning for students…in other words, the true purpose of an education.

Some schools have come to call this a student’s “cumulative folder”. 

Basically, the same thing, just with a different name.

However, the word “cumulative” seems to be less harsh than being “permanent” and indicate that there has been change, growth and learning that has been accumulated over the years, like a collection of knowledge and accomplishments.

The word “folder” too brings forth a more positive and empowering image of a place to store knowledge, information and a history of research and findings driven by curiosity and discovery.  On the other hand, the word record can be associated with more negative contexts like criminal or bad driving…record.

Maybe I have given this way too much thought, energy and brain power, but it really has all stemmed from my heart (through the Vagus Nerve!)

Neither of these terms land well in my gut, so I have had many mental musings about what we should call this. 

What would align more with what the learning journey through school and even beyond into our lifelong learning be until the day we die (which is when the learning opportunities stop for all of us!)

Maybe “learning portfolio”?

The etymology of portfolio is from Italian portafoglio meaning “a movable receptacle or case for carrying detached papers”.

With every experience, both in and out of the classroom, we learn something that we carry with us throughout the rest of our journey in life.

The path, the life, the success or outcome of a student’s life cannot be determined solely by the academic or personal information or experiences that they have had.

Lives can be turned around.

Different choices can be made and different contexts pursued.

We always have the power to change the course of our path in life.

As Henry David Thoreau once said:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined”. 

Nothing is permanent.

Nothing is set in stone.

No-“thing” can stand in your way and block your path forward. 

There is no permanent record to our lives!

Only a learning portfolio that we can carry with us and that will help us to continue on our path through a lifetime of learning.

Photo credit:  https://unsplash.com/@craftedbygc 

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Teachers look forward to Christmas break, Spring break, Summer break, Fall break, Winter break and so on. 

Some people feel that teachers get too many “breaks” and that they don’t deserve them or need them. They see these breaks really as an excess of “vacation” time that other professions unfairly don’t get.

The fact is that teachers keep working and working and working until they experience an “act of forcible disruption or separation.”

This could be in the form of a seasonal break like Spring Break. Many teachers do travel during this time in order to have a change of scenery and get out of their isolation in the classroom.

Many teachers also do not travel during Spring break and are happy to cocoon at home and enjoy all the little things that bring them great joy, but that they do not have time to do while in school…like reading, taking long walks on the beach, catching up on their latest TV shows, slowly sipping on a HOT cup of tea and listening to the birds sing outside their window…

Why do we wait until there is an “act of forcible disruption or separation” before we take a break? 

And more importantly, why is there so much guilt around taking a break?

Should’t teachers, heck – all of us! – give ourselves the permission and opportunities to disrupt the daily demands of life and separate ourselves from the routines that may be keeping us from growing and moving forward?

We should make time for breaks and create positive, healthy beliefs about their value.

Mental breaks from the same thought patterns that keep us stuck and that stunt our growth and keep us in negative self-talk loops.

Physical breaks from just standing or sitting in the same place all day, every day and eating the same foods day after day.

A disruption in routine is healthy because it gives us opportunities to enjoy something new and light up our brain cells for new experiences, learning and growing.

A separation from the every day demands and routines help us to step back and take a look at things from a different perspective and vantage point so that we can look to the horizon and imagine new possibilities or maybe just even look around us and finally notice the things that were there all along, but that we didn’t take the time to notice.

So, maybe McDonald’s slogan wasn’t so bad or obscure after all…

“You deserve a break today”

Teachers, you deserve to take breaks…guilt free. Enjoy!

“Give me a break…in the pool” by tom@hk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post Taking a Break appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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

As those of us in the profession know, the answer to that question is the highest level of thinking in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

There are a lot of questions asked every single day in the classroom, but any question that starts with this interrogative pronoun WHY is the most critical and essential.

For the students:

Why am I learning this?

Why am I here?

Why should I do this?

Why are you asking me that?

Why? Why? Why?

For the teachers:

Why am I teaching this?

Why am I here?

Why should I do it that way?

Why are you asking me that?

Why? Why? Why?

Being curious, exploring, discovering and learning the answers to all those WHYs is the reason for being…a student…a teacher…a human being!

The answers to all the WHYs in the world make up the compass that keeps us on our path and moving in the direction we want to go.

When we lose sight of our WHY, we can’t see our way forward and we get lost.

In fact, think of a Y in the road that can give you two different directions and paths.

The most important thing we need to ask ourselves and get clear on is the answer to make a choice as to which path we take is to answer all those WHY questions in our head, but most importantly, in our heart.

So, like the most curious two-year-old in the world, just keep asking WHY until you get all the answers you need to quiet your mind, warm your heart and settle your soul.

Remember your WHY and follow that path, and you will find peace in your heart.

No other big questions needed!

I struggle sometimes with all that I am trying to do with the Spirit of Teaching, but then, I just look back at notes from teachers, parents and other community members from around the world, I am reminded of my WHY and my compass quickly re-directs toward my North Star, and I am home!

If you know of any teacher who would like to share their WHY, nominate them to be a guest on the podcast Teacher Tales here.

Thank you!

Image credit:

“Question mark made of puzzle pieces” by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post The Big Question appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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?

The word “slide” can mean many different things.

The etymology of the word is from Old English slidan meaning to glide, slip, fall. (etymonline.com)

Some idiomatic expressions using slide = 

          to let slide, on the downhill slide, to slide in or out of…

It is also a noun used for the popular playground, theme park or water park equipment that is fun, exciting and exhilarating!

So, the Second Semester Slide depended on how I chose to view and approach the rest of the school year.

I could choose to view the ease in which we were “sliding” into the rest of the school year as being a smooth one because we had already laid the foundation and “greased the wheels”, so to speak, during the first semester. Piece of cake…just keep building on what we had already set as a foundation and easily “slide” into the end of the year like a base runner in the World Series Championship game.

Or…I could choose to see the second semester and just a continuation of all the slips and falls and failures we had on our learning journey in the first semester and give up, thinking, if they don’t know it by now, then, they are never going to learn it. 

Or…I could reflect on the first semester’s journey and look at our slips, falls and perceived failures merely as opportunities to course correct and go in a different direction that might lead us where we need to go in order to have a positive and empowering rest of the year.

Just like the image of the slide on this post, is the slide going up or are we looking at the slide going down?

It’s always about perspective and choice.

As with everything in life, we can choose the lenses through which we wish to view the world, our experiences, our journey and our destination.

I chose to believe that we were easily sliding into the next learning step like that championship baseball player…that we were going to glide and soar into even higher achievement…that we were not going to fall, but rather slip into a more comfortable learning routine and journey as a result of the experiences we had the first semester.

Maybe it was a little like the cha-cha slide…fun moves, adding a little more steps and increasing the difficulty as we kept dancing.

Check out what I mean here in this music video of The Cha Cha Slide.

Have fun!

Image credit:

“Playgrounds: slide” by jonolist is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. 

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“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?

Standardization and testing have taken away much of the creativity in teaching.

Federal, state and district standards, testing and teacher evaluations have created a sort of template, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning.

Rules, checklists, common lesson plans, curriculum mandates and unreasonable accountability have forced teachers to adjust and comply to expectations outside of their context rather than create, explore and discover within their own personal experience and that of their students.

It is like we are trying to homogenize the classroom…one size fits all…we are all the same.

We preach differentiation, but do we really and truly practice that?

Teachers are merely being asked to paint-by-number rather than being allowed to start with their own personal canvas and use their own uniquely chosen palette with which to create their masterpiece lesson….a.k.a…work of art.

The happiest and most effective teachers I know and have ever worked with are the ones who are allowed by their administrators and teammates to be their most creative and unique self.

Administrators know what good teaching looks like, despite what a district-mandated rubric looks like.

Teammates know how important it is to support and lift up those around us rather than exist under a cloud of jealousy and envy.

It should all start with creating a school culture that recognizes, encourages and supports the art of teaching and the artist in every teacher.

I am always moved to tears by the scene in Mona Lisa Smile when Julia Robert”s character, the teacher, gets out of the classroom and takes her students on a field trip.

Instead of giving them all the “right” answers through content served up on a silver platter for them to memorize and consume, she asks them to just stand in front of a Jackson Pollack painting and merely consider it by looking at the colors, texture, size, personal connection and feelings it evokes. 

This is the art of teaching, which, as we discover throughout the movie, is the main theme.

The teacher, Katherine Watson, wants to open the minds and hearts of her students in the all girls’ school of Wellsley College. 

However, she is expected to teach to a syllabus and deliver the content to the girls in conventional, standardized ways that the college deems acceptable.

When the students are able to recite and regurgitate dates, names and memorized facts about the artwork Miss Watson is presenting in class, then, they are considered model students on the road to success and wholeness as a human being.

However, Miss Watson quickly reveals that these polished and “well-educated” young women don’t really know themselves or the world in which they live.

I especially love the scene where each student, as a final project and homage farewell to their beloved teacher, create their own unique masterpiece based on Van Gogh’s famous painting of sunflowers.

There is a paint-by-number available, but the girls have finally learned how to paint of their own, using their own canvas and uniquely created palette.

Brilliant!!! (**heart eyes**)

So, if you are a teacher who is feeling boxed in, wrapped up and delivered like a package deal or if you feel like you are only doing paint-by-number lessons, then, get out your paints, your canvas and start creating a better lesson plan for you and your students.

Don’t be afraid. There are no right or wrong ways.

That is the beauty of art…it is both personal and universal at the same time and always open to interpretation based on the eyes of the beholder and the perspective of the lenses through which we are looking.

Now, go create your next masterpiece!

Inspirational song:

Soundtrack to Mona Lisa Smile – brilliantly and artfully created by Rachel Portman

Photo credit:

“TA Artist Palette – Nico Griffith AND OTHER NICE PAINT SUPPLIES” by ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The post The Art of Teaching appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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?

Culture = products, practices and perspectives.

Sometimes the products, in other words how the rules are stated, how many there are, etc.can be difficult to prioritize, manage and even express to others because the different perspectives and practices may not be taken into consideration.  

Sometimes the practices of how the rules will be implemented and what the consequences will be if they are not followed can be unclear or inconsistent, which may create further problems and greater pushback.

Sometimes classroom conflict comes up when the student’s (or parent’s) perspective is different from that of the teacher.

How can a teacher regulate the community of students to create a desired classroom culture?

The key word in COMMUNITY. 

The teacher is not a ruler in the sense of someone who dictates and gives directives that are from only one perspective and only in his or her best interest.

If the rules are too strict or worded in such a way that is intimidating, challenging or in any way off-putting to the students, there will be students who shut down or those who rebel or those who just check out of the learning process and don’t engage at all in the classroom culture.

The classroom community is primarily made up of the teacher and the students.

(an aside = in reality, the parents and other colleagues/admin in the school are part of this community as well because they will sometimes be called upon to also help regulate the products and practices).

It takes a village??? Always a best practice, no matter the products or perspectives!

Classroom rules have really worked best, in my experience and observation of successful, productive, happy and healthy classrooms, is when the teacher and the students brainstorm on the first day of class what they want the practices and perspectives to be on desired behaviors in the classroom…on the part of the teacher and on the part of the students.

It is a partnership.

It is a relationship.

It is all about Venn diagraming COMMON goals, values, beliefs, etc. (perspectives) to UNIFY all stakeholders to work cooperatively toward those commonly shared outcomes and the greater good of the COMMUNITY and CULTURE.

And the rules should reflect the practices and perspectives on both parts so that there is a sense of commUNITY in which everyone comes together for the greater good of the classroom, teaching, learning and desired outcomes.

Instead of an inspirational song, I offer up this website for teachers to find inspiration and strategies for how to create common classroom rules as well as some ideas of how to establish a more effective classroom culture that flourishes and grows. 

Photo credit:  St. Augustine Oldest Schoolhouse 1872 Rules for Teachers

The post Rules and Rulers appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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?

Things get spooky in October. It is the season of Halloween, ghosts, goblins, witches, magic spells and tricks or treats.

For teachers, they are juggling way too much and feel the pressure to fulfill the role of “the learned man”.

They wish they had a magic potion or a magic spell they could cast on their students to open those magic books of learning and actually learn something.

Teachers feel like their “flame” is going out while at the same time they are desperately trying to light the flame on the “candle of knowledge” to resurrect their students and keep them from becoming zombies of knowledge.

Fears start to come up.

Things look scary and spooky and dark.

Some teachers start to hide behind a false mask of a smiling face and “I’m fine!”.

So, what to do?

Well, you could do like many, MANY other teachers have done.

Sign up for the weekly Sunday Spirit Spark here to chase away the Sunday Scaries that teachers experience the day before they have to go back to school on Monday.

(Read more about the Sunday Scaries here).

Each Sunday, you will get a newsletter of inspiration and exploration to help you re-energize and face the “Haunted House” in your mind so you can do things like:

***Don’t run or hide or mask up or become a walking Zombie. Find a way and go for the WIN (What’s Important Now?)

***As spooky as it may seem, give yourself permission to feel exhausted, overwhelmed and human. In this vulnerability, you will find what you need to take care of you.

***Don’t ghost your needs, but rather cast a spell of calm and well-being in your life. Figure out what the “best practices” are not only in the classroom, but also in your life outside of the classroom.

***Let go of what is haunting your mind with an incessant cry of BOO + WHO…boo as in I am not doing or being enough + who can I do more for rather than tending to my own needs.

***When things look dark, lean on all those people, places and things that support you to shine your light on the world without guilt, shame or blame.

No tricks, just treats. You can sample some inspiration  here.

I invite all teachers…a.k.a. master juggling magicians to bring a little HOCUS-POCUS into your lives with Sunday Spirit Spark Newsletter so you can better chase away all those SCARY things in teaching you face on a daily basis.

The Spirit of Teaching loves you, sees you, hears you and supports you every step of the way in your teaching journey.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to spiritofteaching@gmail.com for support

Also, please share the newsletter, website, podcast and all the Spirit of Teaching LOVE with all those  you love. Thank you!

Inspirational songs:

A compilation by Good Housekeeping of the top 60 Halloween songs

Photo credit:

“Juggling Magician” by Franklin Park Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post Hocus-Pocus Teaching in Scary Times appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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?

Teachers receive nice notes, cards, letters, hand-made gifts, etc. from their students as an expression of their love and appreciation for all that teacher has done/is doing to make a difference in the life of that child.

Sometimes these come from parents or administrators or even colleagues.

Sometimes these don’t come until years later after the child has grown, entered adulthood and the “real world” and finally feel the real and meaningful impact we have had on their lives.

Sometimes we have projects or other work that students do that demonstrate all the learning, growth and joy that students experienced in our classes that affirm our intentions and validate all our hard work and heartfelt efforts.

As a teacher, I kept ALL of these things, and when I was feeling a little low or like I wasn’t making a difference or ???, then, I would pull a few out of the Tupperware container(s) that housed them and just take in all that love and joy of those cherished memories.

One of my favorite things to do was to create a “class album” (like a family photo album) in which students would put any work, project, creation, etc. that they wanted to leave as their most cherished memory of their time in my class. 

It helped to create a context for connections and building a classroom community of collaboration and experiences that would nurture relationships and bonds that would live in the hearts of those students forever.

Teaching is so hard now…harder than ever.

However, the human heart still has the same capacity for making heart connections, encouraging collaboration and creating community than it has ever had. 

We just need to get out of the fear, the stress, the demands, the monkey-mind, the re-directs in education right to focus more on testing and data/results, and get back to focusing on encouraging and allowing for teachers and their students to pursue those pathways of the heart to making more and more cherished memories in the classroom that will last a lifetime and beyond!

From my heart to all the teacher hearts: 

thank you, for all the cherished memories! 

Inspirational song:

Thanks for the Memory  by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross

Photo credit:

“Family Memory Album” by Sandie Edwards is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The post Cherished Memories appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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?

Thank goodness there are many really caring, loving, generous hearts of students that have been touched by a teacher and many of these wish lists are being “cleared”. YAY!!!

I encourage you to go to Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms, search #clearthelist and pick a teacher’s list to support. 

Choose just ONE item under $10 and purchase it for that teacher.

Then, share that list on your social media accounts and encourage others to donate.

This is how a little, kind gesture can make a big difference…just like every little thing teachers do every day that they forget may a big difference in the life of a child and in the greater good of the world! 

That $10 may get you a coffee and a donut or a “value meal” at a fast food restaurant that will feed your tummy temporarily…

BUT…for teachers and their students, that $10 will feed a lifetime of learning through curiosity, discovery and positive experiences in the classroom.

Think of those teachers and their students as “stars”…

and when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true!

Thank you!

Inspirational song:

When You Wish Upon a Star 

https://youtu.be/Ds2LbtOX7fY   

Image credit:

“When you wish upon a star…” by Vince Alongi is licensed under CC BY 2.0.    

The post Teacher Wish Lists appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.

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…

RELATIONSHIPS!

It is also the main reason teachers tell me that they stay in the profession despite some or all of the other things mentioned above that might be lacking or missing altogether.

This is what Jimmy Buffet says about relationships in his song Fruitcakes:

Now here comes the big ones, relationships, we all got ’em

We all want ’em, what do we do with ’em?

Here we go, I’ll tell ya

She said you gotta do your fair share

Now cough up half the rent

I treat my body like a temple

You treat yours like a tent

But the right word at the right time

May get me a little hug

That’s the difference between lightning

And a harmless lightnin’ bug

This is such a profound thing for me, both in and out of the classroom.

“The right word at the right time”

Words have power to nurture and develop a healthy relationship or to destroy it and make it toxic.

In many presentations I have done about the “Affective Domain in the Classroom”, I have shown these pictures and sited the work of Masaru Emoto and The Hidden Messages in Water.

The WWWWWH (who, what, when, where, why and how) of the expression of our words creates that “difference between lightning and a harmless lightnin’ bug”.

Do our words strike someone down, give them a painful, life threatening jolt or do the flitter and flutter and bring a warm, glowing light to our hearts?

Words have the power to lift us up or knock us down.

How we talk to ourselves and others, the words we choose and the expressions we make are so critical to our well-being and the well-being of the world around us.

The can either be bridges to understanding and make connections to others…

OR

They can be a divide that gorges a deep, uncrossable ravine with steep, rocky sides and treacherous cliffs carved away by the erosive language we use with each other.

It is ALWAYS a choice we have!

Teachers and parents especially need to be mindful of the words they use with each other and with children.

Relation comes from the Anglo-French relacioun, meaning “report or connection”.

Ship, to me, is a vessel for carrying the GOOD(S).

Relationship is the vessel for carrying good words, good deeds and making good connections.

Perhaps report cards should share more of the good that children are doing rather than a letter or number system that is very impersonal and less meaningful.

What can we do as teachers (and parents) to create less lightening and more harmless lightenin’ bugs?

Use your words wisely!

Also, I invite you to listen to the Spirit of Teaching podcast called Teacher Tales to hear more about the nurturing, long-lasting relationships that teachers have developed with their students.

Inspirational song:

Fruitcakes by Jimmy Buffet

Photo credits:

“Relationships/Community” by tuchodi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto

The post Relationships appeared first on Spirit of Teaching.