Work Less, Achieve More
Best-selling author, Jennifer Weiner, is an excellent example of work/life balance. Not only is she writing best-selling books every year, but she carves time to go on 100-mile bike ride adventures, bakes bountiful bundles of bread and pastries, and she is learning how to play the piano! She is undoubtedly one who inspires us […]
Balancing Life To Avoid Teacher Burnout
Teaching is a rewarding profession but can come at a high cost. Educators are natural caregivers but tend to prioritize other people’s well-being over their own, leading to teacher burnout. In a society where a workaholic is celebrated and misinterpreted as an overachiever, teachers need to be reminded that they are more than their job […]
A Student Refuses to Engage, What do you say?
What do you do when you have asked a student to do something, and they flat out tell you no? I keep prompting them to do what I requested and they continue to say no. The student is not having a good day and the teacher senses it will only escalate as they prompt the […]
Daydreaming Over Determination
If you pay attention to how you feel, doesn’t daydreaming feel better than determination? If you are determined, doesn’t it have a hint of grinding through or you are going to force your way through? I am certainly not telling you that determination does not have its place or its positive attributes. However, I am […]
Teach Behavior As You Would Content
Would you project the quadratic formula and expect the students to be able to use it to solve problems? No. You would most likely use the gradual release as a framework to teach how to apply the quadratic formula. Why would behavior expectations be any different? I like to refer to them as Positive Behavior […]
24 Hour Rule for Feedback
Accepting feedback is tough. No one likes to hear how they need to improve. So how do we accept feedback? I give my students the 24-hour rule. I tell them they have 24-hours to be angry and play the blame game – blame me, blame their dog, blame everyone else but themselves. They can sulk, […]
Difficult Conversations to Compassionate Conversations
Why do difficult conversations have to be difficult? How can we approach difficult conversations that will empower you and the student or person you are talking with? Repeat after me, difficult conversations do NOT have to be difficult. If you told me this just three years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you because they used […]
Well But’s Are Dream Killers….Or Are They?
Have you ever been tasked to find a solution to a problem and bring your ideas to the next team meeting? I am sure all of us have been in this position because that is primarily what we do during team meetings, right? We have a problem and we find solutions. So, you are tasked […]
Courageous Conversations
What is a courageous conversation? We have them all the time. We have them everywhere. We have them with students, colleagues, administrators, and parents. The conversations may be a two-minute conversation in the hallway or a conversation that takes place over the course of 20 days. The idea is that we engage in conversations that […]
The Data Was Driving this Perfectionist Crazy!
I had a student once tell me when I teach I speak in affirmations. I said I was a very awakened teacher and I would not be sitting here if I didn’t make a change. I was a good teacher, but I did so with a theater of voices in my head. No, I am […]