in sync

In Sync #why not Wednesday 

September 27, 2017

At the start of a school year,  it takes some time to get in sync… in sync with the routine,  with your new students, and with your teaching team.  These lovely ladies are getting in the groove on day 4!  While dressing alike is probably not that unusual,  showing up in nearly the same dress by accident might indicate that they are on the same wavelength about more than just their fashion sense.

So how do we get in sync in our building, our team, or in our classroom  at the beginning of the year?

Possible idea 1. Spend some time getting to know each other.  Laugh,  talk about TV,  have lunch together,  take a walk, drop by for a chat.  You get the idea.  Don’t make everything all the time about work with your co-workers and with the students.

Possible idea 2.  Give yourself a break.  We don’t need to launch in at break neck speed every single time.  Wait, is that just me?  Take time to get your bearings,  read the environment.  Even if it’s the same old environment, it always seems to change as the new year start.

Possible idea #3  Review. Give a thought and some good conversation to what went really well last year and … what you might do differently.  Reflecting is good for the soul and the craft. 

I might wear my black dress tomorrow. 

 

 

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Why You Need a Teaching Bucket List

Why You Need a Teaching Bucket List

July 19, 2017

Everyone has a bucket list:  places they want to go, experiences they want to have, etc.  Bucket lists are wonderful things.  They motivate, they challenge, and who doesn’t want to cross things off a list.

Let’s use that energy to become the educators we want to be.  Oh wait!  First we have to figure that out.  Maybe not…

When you virtually stand in your classroom, office, teaching space, what do you want to see, do, say, feel?

I have a teacher friend, who wanted to be a better writing teacher or perhaps she thought she wanted her writing block to be more successful.  That’s a big goal.  What made her think that?  Was she disappointed with the student output?  Were her mini-lessons not tight enough?  Conferring?   You get the idea.

Focus.   Pick 5 things for your 2017-18 (or summer) bucket list.  What are those things you are  going to accomplish?  Last year, one of the teams all went through their classroom libraries with the intent of getting more students involved with more diverse books.

Make your bucket list. Mark your progress.  Enlist colleagues.

Grow.