Perception AND Reality

Just a little note this week to say "Me too." Hang in there! You can thrive not just survive today and this week! Keep up the good work!

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth." -- Dan Rather

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." --John Cotton Dana

That Winter Scowl...

Happy President's Day! We hope you are able to enjoy some self-renewal time today! If not, you might find yourself looking similar to the picture above! : ) Like the Presidents we are celebrating today, you too are leaders who need some much-deserved time to reflect and renew! Our students deserve a sunny classroom even in this, gray cold season. Here are the top ten qualities of a self-renewing person. Hope these can be helpful tips, especially in these winter months.

Ten Qualities of Self-Renewing Adults
By Pamela McLean, Ph.D.

1. VALUE DRIVEN
Primary anchors within self
Time gets organized around critical priorities
(Remember the "who" and "why" are much more important than the "how" and "what")

2. CONNECTED TO THE WORLD
Caring and Communicating Listen and Empathize Networking and Seeking
(Find ways to give your students and families time to express themselves as well as listen and connect to each other)

3. CREATE SOLITUDE AND QUIET
Removing oneself voluntarily from one’s habitual environment promotes understanding and perspective that transcends day-to-day life
(set aside at least 15-30 minutes a day for quiet time to reflect)

4. GOOD PACING
Life is more than work, work, work, do, do, do... It is QUALITY rather than schedules, INTEGRITY rather than applause
(Set aside one hour a day and one day a week where you can just "be" instead of "do")

5. CONTACT WITH NATURE
Nature is a universal resource for renewal – Use It!
(Bundle up and take a walk for some fresh air.)

6. CREATIVE AND PLAYFUL
Staying alive by taking life in
(Find a way to incorporate an interactive, competitive game or a creative expression activity in your lesson, model it for the kids by doing it yourself as well.)

7. ADAPTIVE TO CHANGE
Allowing ourselves to pursue best options
(Explore some alternative learning style activities to mix up the flow of your activities.)

8. LEARN FROM THE DOWN TIMES
Learn more from our failures and our down times than from our long and sweet plateaus
(On bad days or failed activities, take a deep breath and reflect over what you could do next time to improve.)

9. ALWAYS IN TRAINING
When learning, we feel drawn to new possibilities
(Learn and listen from your students as much as they learn from you. What are they saying, teaching you about life?)

10.FUTURE ORIENTED
Look for challenges to deepen our experience and make a difference in the world
(Remember the seeds of kindness you sew with your students and families will have a ripple effect!)

Show some....

Happy Valentine's Day from Teachers 4 Teachers! We know this is a tough time of year. Winter is cold. Students are restless. Spring break seems so far away. On this week of celebrating love, we want you to know that even though you don't hear it enough, if ever.--your community loves you. We're grateful for all your hard work. We know that every lesson planned, every test created, every activity led, every copy made is a little act of love for your students. A little love note that says "You can do this." And we believe the same about you.

Love is not in the curriculum, but it is a staple for every teacher. Think about a coach, mentor, family member or teacher who inspired you. Most likely, you learned from that person because you knew they cared about you. It's amazing how love can motivate, isn't it? Below are some great reminders about the power of love from Mother Theresa, a great teacher for many. Our students our families, our friends are all longing for the same thing we are. Love can brighten any lesson, any relationship, any classroom-- any season, even the long ones. : )

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."

"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

"It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters."

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love."

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own home. Give love to your children, to a wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor. (to your students, your peers, your administrators...) Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand."

"Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other–it doesn’t matter who it is– and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other."

Happy Valentine's Day! Show some love to your students and families this week. It has a way of bouncing back to you! : )

Pom-Pons

In all the red tape of behavioral referrals, , redline test scores, and red pen slashes for wrong answers, it's easy to get bogged down in the "what needs to be..." What needs to be fixed, corrected, admonished, and scolded. But what if we could look around and see red Pom-pons instead? What if we look for chances to cheer them on?

We are your cheerleaders as you cheerlead your students. You are a gift to your students and our community that is rarely celebrated. In the US, we tend to be known for our spirit of entitlement and complaint. But what if we could model for our kids a spirit of celebration and gratitude? Let's swim upstream this week!

For some of your students, you are their only advocate. The only one who might take a chance and believe they can truly be the best version of themselves. The one who holds that red pen, hoping not to have to mark wrong answers and hoping to put that %100 at the top of that paper. Rules in your classroom cheer them on to be a kinder, more generous, more loving generation. Just like on the homework, it's easy to focus on the wrong answers, the ones that need to be fixed. But this week, let's try to catch our kids doing something great. Shoot them some words of praise, cheer them on. Let them know we believe in them, care for them, and cheer from the sidelines that they can take that next step toward the best version of themselves. Each student is a gift to be celebrated.

The Pom-pon challenge: At home or at school, when you find yourself with a complaint on the tip of your tongue, try to say out loud something you're grateful for instead. A gift to be celebrated. Whether it's our students, administrators, support staff, spouses, kids, family members, or friends, what if we look for chances to cheer others on this week?


"Stay awake to the wonder of this world. Great thinkers are the grateful thankers— the real greats live gratefully... Love is the laying down of it’s own wants to lift up the will of another. Love let’s go of it’s plans — to hold on to a person." AnnVoskamp, One Thousand Gifts

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own." -- Nikos Kazantzakis

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of becoming." -- Goethe