Educators are notorious for arriving at school early and staying way past the end of the school day. Even the weekends aren’t off limits. Some work in their classrooms part of Saturday and return on Sunday. Many times these educators find themselves being asked to leave by the custodial staff. It’s time to blow out […]
teacher support
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Teacher Self-Care: Great Tips PLUS A Hyperdoc To Share!
How often do you think about self-care? At the beginning of the year? During grading periods when you’re stressed out and wondering why you’re teaching? When you’ve had a fabulous weekend/day/month off and you think about how awesome it feels? When you’ve had enough and decide to take a ‘mental health sick day’?s That’s what […]
Posted inOpinion
Why I Want to Karate-Chop the SmartBoard and 19 Other Rants
Why I want to karate-chop the SmartBoard I worked for a district who had the nicest SmartBoards and projectors around. I liked them, they were easy to use, and they were only there a few years. But, the darndest thing happened: the same year we took a forced pay freeze, the district purchased new equipment […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
I Am Not Your Hero: Surviving the Educator’s Savior Complex
I am not Michelle Pfeiffer. I don’t wear leather jackets, and I’m not that thin. I am not Hillary Swank. I do have two jobs, but I don’t wear pearls to school. I am not Morgan Freeman. I’m not patrolling my hallways with a baseball bat and locking the doors to keep out the “bad […]
Posted inHigh School
When Students Provide Perspective
Sometimes, I feel like I need a little perspective. Some days, I come home from work exhausted. Especially this week, the week before Thanksgiving Break. This is not something that is unique to me. All week, I have seen posts on social media from other teachers that are feeling the same way. With daylight savings […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
15 Things My 2-Year-Old Taught Me This Year
A few weeks after my son was born in November 2015, I started thinking differently as a teacher. While I don’t think this applies to everyone, I feel like it did – and continues to – make me a better teacher. For the past two years I’ve shared lessons I’ve learned from him as a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Challenges of Mental/Emotional Health for Teachers
By: Scott Miller Phoenix When I began teaching, I never once thought about the challenges I would face when it came to mental health and stress. It never crossed my mind that stress would be a factor for a teacher until I had to manage a classroom. During my first five years teaching, I averaged […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Response To Intervention: One Teacher’s Story
A decade ago, I was the first classroom teacher at my elementary school to complete a round of RTI. The counselor, principal and I went into the process with confusion, determined to get a struggling third-grade student the help she needed. Since those early RTI days, I’ve provided tier II and III interventions and watched […]