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Life boat.

Got a tiger in your boat?
Got a tiger in your boat?

When we first started teaching one of my best friends made a little ‘teacher emergency kit’ complete with ibuprofen, highlighters, emergency chocolate, etc. Its contents have long been depleted, and if I was to refill it now its metaphorical weight would sink a ship.

Now I am wondering: how do we educators truly support one another, and help us all get to safety? One thing that is beautiful about my life now is during holiday breaks my children are old enough to be independent, and we connect as a family when we choose. (Yes, I’m looking forward with hope to a day in the far, far future when I’m a grandmother, but today is not that day!) It’s wonderful to have the time to reflect on my craft, and organize my upcoming year as best I can.

Reasons I maintain social media connections are for the same fundamental reasons I always did: I get great ideas, and can share them, and share my (original) ideas, too. The days of the “one” may be outdated: by one I mean the ‘boss’ archetype in our worlds. The judge, the evaluator as jury, not as sage or wise curator. But that’s a discussion for another time, I suppose.

I wanted to share some inspirational media that I’ll take with me to the next half of the school year:

How to be heard

How to speak so that people want to listen

If he was giving this talk to teachers, it might include: stay out of the staff lounge. I do, but am questioning this. I am not sure I have the energy it takes to turn the culture around in our staff lounge.

Dr. Carol Dweck: Not Yet

Improve

Actively Learn

This is still glitchy on some of my students’ laptops, but other than that, it is phenomenal. If I were to design an interactive deeper reading format, this would be it, and that is high praise indeed.

Write About

This is almost a twin to Actively Learn in terms of its usability, accessibility, and easement into creativity.

On-going love affairs:

These are resources that continue to nourish:

New friends:

And always, celebrate my students:

celebrate