Mine, Mine, Mine!

There are two characteristics common among teachers that get in the way of helping one another. First, teachers are territorial. These are my kids. This is my classroom. We defend that territory primarily by standing guard at the gate and growling at anyone who dares to enter. We don't handle criticism very well. We don't share well. If someone asks for supplies because they've run out, our first reaction may not be to offer them our own. The very value of sharing we seek to teach our students is somehow lost in the shuffle from the classroom to the lounge.

Second, teachers isolate themselves. We are very comfortable closing our classroom doors. It is not uncommon to walk through a hallway and see every door closed, with construction paper covering a window that might happen to exist in the door. If we struggle with teaching, we tend to keep it to ourselves. In this age of accountability, showing weakness is discouraged. So we may sit in our misery or confusion alone for a very long time.

We can encourage one another. Who better knows what your life is like than another teacher? Offer another teacher food for thought. Is someone on your faculty working towards their master's degree? Is there a way you can help? Is someone struggling with staying organized and it is your strength? Offer practical tips without sounding high and mighty about it. Does a teacher wrestle with a student that you taught the year before? Partner with him or her to come up with strategies to reach that student. There is not only safety in numbers, but joy!

Food for Thought

As educators we spend a lot of time assessing and discovering how we can motivate and encourage students to learn. We are aware of those with special learning needs and differing learning styles. We make sure they are fed with free breakfast and lunch programs. We offer after school care. But the most important key to a child's learning is the teacher.


Teachers have needs that if left unmet affect how well they teach. Low teacher morale is a problem at epidemic proportions. If you don't feel good about what you do, chances are you won't do it very well. The soul of a teacher is just as important, if not more important, as her credentials. We can wait for society to wake up and appreciate and encourage us, but better still we can appreciate and encourage one another. Feed the soul of other teachers through mind, body and spirit.

Pendulum

If you haven't read "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp, I highly recommend it for your upcoming Spring Break reading. Even if you aren't skipping off to Florida, it will provide the vacation you need!

Everyday, we are faced with many challenges as teachers and plenty to complain about...and we often vent to our fellow teachers in our need to release the toxins of frustration before we head back to class. But there are studies that show that you can actually train your mind to be grateful. What if we can swing the pendulum from complaint to gratitude? Would we discover a hidden joy we didn't see was there all along? Ann Voskamp made a list of 1000 things she was thankful for, and it changed her life. I challenge all of us this week to write down just a few of our "gifts" per day. Here are some of mine...

1. the kids
2. those hidden smiles from under the "I'm too cool for school" looks
3. friendships with other teachers (sometimes just the silent looks of I don't know what to do with them either . . .)
4. the total unpredictability of day to day life of a teacher (at least it's not a conveyor belt at a factory!)
5. holding on to the dream of bringing our the best in each student
6. that "I can't believe I really just did that- I didn't think I could do that" look.
7. summer break, spring break, winter break, prep period, time to refresh and renew
8. creative ideas for lessons that trick our students into learning
9. an opportunity to show love and encouragement in a world that tells kids they're just future screw ups
10. the lessons I learn from THEIR stories


“Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.”
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

More than A Number

A great reminder from the point of view of a high school student:

I am more than a number.
I am someone’s child, will be someone’s parent.
I am Someone’s creation.
I came into this world chasing knowledge, ready to try anything.
I stacked blocks and counted to ten, but fall asleep in your math class.
I lived for trips to the zoo, but failed Biology last semester.
I sang my ABC’s to smiling faces, but my essays are covered in red.

I am more than a filled desk.
I have fears, questions, memories.
I have a Creator.
I came into this world with innocent dreams, innocent needs.
I said I would be an Astronaut, but will be lucky to get a diploma.
I couldn’t wait to show my Batman lunch box, but hate my levis when Abercrombie’s walk by.
I have a dad who rocked me to sleep, but he kicked me out again last night.

I am more than a label.
I have hidden talents, a future career.
I have a divine purpose to be here.
I came into this world with my fingerprints.
I kicked a ball at recess, now I am a dumb jock.
I wrote the wrong letter on the board, now I’m a slow learner.
I got quiet after the divorce, now I’m just another "goth" in all black.

I am more than an absence.
I am somewhere, may not be coming back.
I am “God knows where.”
I came into this world with a family who anticipated for months, years.
I had a decorated nursery four months before I arrived, but your classroom looks like a jail cell.
I saw happy tears when coming back from camp, but they sigh when I ask for make-up work.
I had thirty neighbors searching when I toddled down the street one day, but now it’s just “unexcused.”

I am more than a statistic.
I listen to you, have someone I want to be.
I have a calling.
I came into this world by myself.
I have a mom from Venezuela, but I’m just another Hispanic male.
I live in a small house that was always big enough for me, but my “economic status” made me “at-risk.”
I didn’t have a dad growing up, but now I’m just another pregnant girl with no self-control.

I am more than another student.
I have a past, a future.
I was placed in your class by two kinds of Counselors.
I used to be “a delightful child”, now I “show no apparent interest in learning.”
I used to get my sandwich sliced sideways with no crust, now I am a bar code.
I used to be mom’s “precious little angel”, now I’m an ID number, a class rank,
and one of thirty empty faces.

You failed me.
Oh, yeah . . .
I got an F, too.

"In any large corporation, rank-and-file workers who put forward truly new ideas have the deck stacked against them right from the beginning. Most companies are peppered with people who are very quick to say 'no.' Most newly-hatched ideas are shot down before they even have time to grow feathers, let alone wings...One 'yes' in a sea of 'no's' can make the difference." Gordon McKenzie, Orbiting the Giant Hairball

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! : )