I’m a public school teacher and I’ve seen some shit.
I’m a public school teacher and I have contemplated walking away and never looking back. More than once….
Hard Conversations With Our Teen Children: How do we move forward when we can’t change the past?
When we hit hard conversations, and there have been plenty lately, I’m doing my best to encourage them to stay.
To talk it out.
To listen before defending.
To stop trying to figure out who’s “right” and instead ask: “How do we move forward when we can’t change the past?”
Bad Things Happen to Good People
Is it Faith or Superstition?
Before walking away from evangelism, I feared that if I did, it would have a cost. But my belief was more along the lines of a superstition… it was leaving what I thought I had control over, but rationally, I knew it was all based in fear.
It felt more like superstition because in my mind I had this pattern of belief “If I do this ____ then The Bible says ____ will happen” as my safety net. My personal genie in a bottle with endless wishes for a good life.
Relationships Matter
You’ve heard the saying, “You are the company you keep.” The more you spend time with people, the more you adopt the traits of those around you. There are some relationships that come without choice, but there are also relationships you choose to keep. Whether it’s with your parents, friends, teachers, or yourself, relationships matter.
There’s No Substitute for A Positive School Experience
I try to substitute a couple times a week in my local school district. I have three schools I regularly serve, one elementary, one middle, and one middle/high school mix.
Recently, I’ve worked with pre-k, to SpED, to seniors and here are some ideas that have stuck with me.
The Student Experience
This made me think oftentimes, as educators, we can get so laser-focused on checking off everything we need to do for the day, as well. And we are resonsbile for so much, and the list grows every year. Sometimes we let that routine diminish the classroom experience of our students.
3 Books That Encourage Belonging & Empathy
Here are three books I recommend adding to your personal and professional libraries that are grounded in empathy and belonging. They also help start conversations around students with different abilities like autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome and a few more.
3 Reasons to Bring Woodshop Back To School
Any teacher can implement woodworking with the way Maplewoodshop has set up their kit and workbenches because it fits tables. No new classroom required.
EduMatch At ISTELive 23
If you are headed to ISTELive in Philadelphia, we hope you will connect with the EduMatch Community. You can find them at a Happy Hour Event, sponsored by Teq, EduMatch, and Educator Alexander on Monday Night, June 26th.
Impact to Influence: Prepare to Be Inspired!
This special bookchat with author Jed Stefanowicz, was so much fun. Any time we can connect with our professional learning network (PLN) and find ways to inspire each other, we can count that as a win. Jed’s newest release, Impact To Influence: Pathway Portraits of Risk-takers, Rule-Breakers, and Changemakers is a project with that in mind.
He Gave Me A Melody 