The silence between the notes

Even after the rain, With plants that were never meant  For bouquets, We can find beauty. Sort of like in life, In times that we never imagined  We would face, Growth can be beautiful. So maybe beauty comes less  From sweet fragrance  Or visual charm.  Maybe it comes more  From the way  We grow with the weeds  And the rain. *I shared a version of this to a private page on May 27,  and today I decided I wanted to include it in this “collection” on my blog.

Although this is a tough topic for summer reading, I’m really glad to see  this article is tackling it. It’s no secret that student behaviors have become more noticeably challenging in the last two years, but a lot of people still don’t appreciate just how difficult it really is to manage a classroom full of students these days. Mind you, we’re not even diving into the increasingly common crisis of mass violence in schools, just the regular old non-deadly challenges that teachers handle in a typical week. This article has great insights for teachers AND non-teachers so I hope you’ll read it when you’ve finished with this prologue of mine. Maintaining a productive, healthy learning environment is SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED than many people realize. Contrary to what I’ve heard non-teachers advise, we can’t just tell students to be respectful of each other, because all their homes define respect differently; and we shouldn’t try to scare students into working silently all day because t...

 Trigger warning: Hot button topic ahead. I’m looking for insights and solutions, not complaints. Goodness knows our world has plenty of criticisms right now, so let’s focus on insights and solutions here! 🤍 ——————————————————— I have worked in education for over 20 years. Clarification— I have OVERWORKED myself in education for 20 years. For the first decade, I really thought that’s what I needed to do. I thought that’s what my students needed me to do. Then after years of hard work, constant self-evaluation, additional degrees, and endless professional development goals… my family experienced several traumatic situations, and I realized I couldn’t actually do it all. I couldn’t be there for my students 60 hours a week while caring for my family 60 hours a week too. (And I certainly hadn’t even considered if I should be taking care of myself at any point.)  When I began mentoring incoming teachers at the university, I made it a priority to teach my candidates that they shoul...

Full disclosure: Teaching is HARD! Online teaching is somehow even harder! Teaching online (and/or hybrid) in the middle of ever-changing social situations and a pandemic is UNREALISTICALLY HARD! I usually take pride in my ability to differentiate for students’ various needs but with online learning, that’s basically become one of my main job requirements! There’s no time left in the day to grade—just barely enough time to respond to the individual messages and try to plan their supports/modifications/extra meetings. Some days, my eyes are dry and burning and my heart is broken by student stories even before 10AM. On those days, I practically give up all hope of grading because it takes every ounce of professionalism to stay strong through my next 6 hours of Zoom meetings. And by the way, that is in no way a complaint! I sincerely value the fact that students are willing to reach out, and I value the fact that my job allows me to support them in different ways. I have seen programs w...

 Unlike most "first day" of school experiences, today was a rather anticlimactic first day for me. And when I think about how completely chaotic and unnerving the last 6 months of 2020 have been...I'm quite content with this pleasant, low key day!  When my work day ended, I started to write down some Monday Motivation tips for myself and for some teacher friends who follow me on facebook, then I realized this list might also be helpful for others embarking on an on-line or hybrid school experience this year. So whether you're a teacher, a student, a parent who is now doubling as an at-home tutor or full-on homeschool teacher, or a school counselor or secretary or administrator who is trying to administer things remotely, I hope you find some encouragement (and dare I say, Monday Motivation) in this list! Motivation for Maximizing your On-line Learning Experience this Fall:  It’s easier to focus on the complaints than it is to find the blessings. (The sleepy complaint ...

With the ever-tightening quarantine measures being taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like I no longer have the excuse of being too busy to write.   In fact, since  I’m working more hours from home, I’m being more intentional about switching from work to play time!  So for a creative outlet, I decided to create a challenge for all of my artsy friends who are also stuck at home! The first part of this project came to me when I was listening to a Paramore song which says ”We’re all alone now. I need something to sing about.” And I realized that future generations will probably interpret those words differently than the original context...before we'd all experienced large scale Social Distancing. As a former teacher of poetry and music, that made me want to start investigating other songs that will probably be interpreted differently during this isolation... or after this apocalyptic season (hopefully) ends!   The second part of the project came ...

Here I am again, after months of writing things and not posting them. I have in fact had a lot on my mind. (Those of you who know me personally are not at all shocked, I'm sure, but maybe someone out there doesn't yet realize that, so I felt it was fair to say.) But my whole life, I've done this thing where I have too much to say so I say nothing for a while while it bubbles up inside...then I try saying something and it all comes whipping out like a hurricane of nonsense...so then I go back to bottling it up and stating my need for "processing time." Guess that's what's been happening with my sporadic posting for the last few years too. Who would have guessed? Then there's this other thing I do when I don't know what to say--I obsess over a song, poem, essay, etc. in which someone else said what I couldn't. So to that end, I'm directing you to a few two articles by a cause that I admire very much: To Write Love on Her Arms. If you haven...

WARNING: A moment of transparency, and a rather long post ahead.  Yesterday, I had my 3rd teaching evaluation of the year and the administrator asked my students a variety of questions, one of which was "Does your teacher demonstrate enthusiasm in her job?" One dancer laughed and said, "She has more energy than the rest of us every morning." Since this was a student I've known years, I later confessed that I'm usually faking my 6AM energy, but that by pretending I'm excited in beginning of each day, I usually make the energy become a reality. (With the help of my 9AM dose of caffeine and B vitamins, at least until it wears off.) She was surprised that she didn't know how I'd really felt all this time.  And I realized several of my mostly-on-line friends have mentioned similar ideas recently, with kind words about how fun or funny or happy my life seems to be.  (Although those who know me best can attest to what you're about to learn......

Full disclosure: most of the letters, emails, lesson plans, and blog posts I've written recently have not actually been "written" in the traditional sense. Since working on electronic devices has been causing more eye pain and headaches lately, I've put down the keypad and picked up the microphone. I have been using talk/text, voice memos, and my new best frienemy, Siri, for almost everything. Likewise, I've taken to listening to most of my entertainment. Sometimes I listen to the usual audio entertainment (Pandora, iTunes, radio, etc.), but other times, I want something more engaging. T wo of my new favorite activities include listening to books on YouTube and listening to my favorite Netflix TV shows. S ince my laptop might otherwise lure me into TV viewing temptation, I've started using the "pic mute" function. (I.e., I turn my screen to black so that I don't accidentally start watching.) Ironically, that means I really have no idea wh...