Back to School Amazon Wishlist!
Every year, part of my summer is spent preparing for back to school time. Part of this is reading about content and strategies, planning units for my classes, and creating new materials. The other part of this preparation is S H O P P I N G. My career is the perfect one for someone who LOVES office supplies and organization! Every summer I make a wish list of things I want and need for the upcoming year. I am lucky enough that I do get a reimbursement for up to $250 of the supplies I buy, which usually covers most of what I need. However, I also spend some…
Feeling Stuck in Teaching? Three Action Steps to Start Feeling UNstuck!
This past school year was…difficult. Not only did I struggle with my transition back to work after my maternity leave, but I also just felt stuck in my profession. I started to feel trapped in my classroom and my heart was stretched in a million directions. I felt the pull towards home and being with Olivia, but I also missed the freedom I used to have with my job–coming and going when I wanted, not feeling rushed to complete my tasks, hanging out after school with students, and running extracurriculars. I also felt stagnant in what I was teaching. I was scheduled to teach five World Studies classes, and I…
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If you’ve been reading, you know that his blog is about my journey to find balance in my life between my career and my life outside of school. Along this journey, there are obviously many parts of me that intersect. Whether I am at school or at home, I am who I am. Anyone who knows me might describe me as passionate and committed when speaking positively or as a worrier and high strung on the negative end of the spectrum. Only within the past year have I come to own and embrace all the parts of me. This year, I have been more honest about who I am, how…
A Form of Resistance: Teaching Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking in Today’s World
When I became a history teacher, I knew that I would need to teach my students to be proficient readers, writers, and thinkers so that they would be able to navigate the world in which we all live. Throughout the years, I have found avenues to show my students how these skills we use in the classroom are relevant in the world outside the walls of our school. We have planned school and community events. We have lobbied. We have written letters. We have engaged with youth who are different from us. These skills are ESPECIALLY pertinent in today’s political climate where often times there is a complete disregard for…
Ending to the To-Do List–Four Habits To Improve Your Time Management at School
Last night, I attended an evening meeting for a Teacher Leader Board that I am on. The meeting started with the opportunity for each teacher to share two words that described how they felt over winter break/in their first week back at school. Overwhelmingly, the most popular word shared was “stressed.” As teachers, we constantly feel that there is never enough time. There is always another paper to grade. There is always another email to answer. There is always another plan to create. Many of my teacher friends talk about their never-ending to-do lists and the fact that this ongoing to-do list is the source of their stress and anxiety. Even when teachers…
New Year’s Teaching Resolutions
Every year I make a list of resolutions for myself. These are centered on my physical health, mental health, finances, and travel. At the end of the previous year/beginning of the New Year, my friend Mary and I share our personal resolutions as a way to encourage one another and to hold one another accountable. This tradition is something I so look forward to each year. While some people think that waiting for the New Year to set intentions or begin a habit is a bad idea, I am an individual who needs a reset every once in a while. The end of 2016 put a lot of things in…
Time For Some Real Talk
Over the past few weeks, I haven’t written for a few reasons: The beginning of the school year can sometimes feel like chaos. 150 names to learn. 150 relationships to build. Schedules change. Students have bad days. We have bad days. A lot of things are unpredictable and take some time to settle down. My teaching load looks very different this year than it has in years past, so I have been feeling overwhelmed trying to figure all of it out and how to be the best teacher I can be for every student in my room. I have more accommodations to provide than ever before. It takes time to…
How Organization Systems Help Save My Time and My Sanity!
School kicked off today and with that, the papers are flying out to students and in to me and time is FLYING! I don’t know about you, but it seems like the first days of school are over within the blink of an eye. Tonight as I am sitting here reflecting on today’s activities, I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement for the year ahead. While I only met my students for 45 minutes today, they already seem amazing and I cannot wait to get to know them better! These are the kinds of moments with my students that I want to enjoy and be mentally present for each day.…
A Summer of Reflection & Motivation
It is not often that we get the opportunity to slow down and reflect. On the last day of school this year, which was already a month ago (!!!), we had a “half-cap” ceremony for our sophomore students. During the half-cap ceremony many sophomore students were recognized for their accomplishments and successes from this year. While I did not teach all of the students, it was such a positive and uplifting end to the school year. On the last day of school, I also had to say good-bye to one of the teachers at school who truly helped me to become the teacher that I am today. While we will…
