Shaping School Culture

Self Care Saturday Our profession can be overwhelming. Self care is crucial. You can’t take care of your students if you don’t take care of you. Every Saturday I will encourage educators to make sure they are taking care of themselves and their families as that should be our first priority. (I need this reminder too!) Self Care Saturday #1: You don’t have to be productive today  You just had a successful week and worked hard. Make sure you take time this weekend for you. Remember you don’t have to be productive today. Resting is being productive for you. Rest, relax, and recharge and focus on your self care! Self Care Saturday #2: Before you think about what went wrong this week, think about what went right  In our profession, we should constantly reflect and make adjustments to get better. But oftentimes we get caught up in things that went wrong. Don’t forget to focus on what went right. I definitely ne...

Teacher Toolbox There are so many engaging things teachers can have in their toolbox. Every week I will highlight something that you can put in yours! Teacher Toolbox #1: Attention Getters One of my favorite things I did with my students was using attention getters. I did a lot of group work and had my students have a lot of discussions with each other so it is important (and fun) to have some attention getters to bring the class back to the whole group. I tried to vary it up to keep it entertaining and interesting for my students.  My favorite attention getter was “If you can hear me…” You can add so many different options to this and my students loved it. One I used is If you can hear me, go swimming. (Students would act like they’re swimming.) My absolute favorite was If you can hear me, do the YMCA. This was my students favorite one too. You can add so many different variations to this and of course make it appropriate for the grade level you teach.  One basic att...

Tenacious Teaching I’ve used the word tenacious for educators and educational leaders because essentially it is someone who refuses to quit no matter how difficult something becomes as well as someone who is extremely determined. I believe that this mindset is crucial in education. Teaching isn’t easy and has many challenges, but the impact that teachers make on students is what makes those difficult challenges worth it. It is important to remember on your toughest days, your work matters more than you realize and that’s why educators are tenacious because they don’t give up and keep coming back.  Tenacious Teaching #1: Why Tenacious Matters in Teaching   Tenacious educators don’t give up on students or stop growing. They don’t allow the difficult days to define them. Tenacious doesn’t mean perfect. Teaching can be messy at times. A lesson may not go the way you planned, students will struggle and can have challenging behaviors, and parents can also be a challenge. Essentially...

Engagement Strategy of the Week  One important way to reduce behaviors in your classroom is to engage your students. There are so many great engagement strategies out there. The more your students are engaged the less behavior problems you will have and your students will definitely take away more from your lessons. Every week I will share a simple yet effective engagement strategy you can use with your students.  Engagement Strategy of the Week #1: Think - Pair - Share I have used this strategy many times. I’m sure most of you reading this have too. This is a great strategy to get all of your students involved and participating in your lesson. First, ask your class a question and give your students a few minutes to think about their response. They can write it down or just think about it. Students then turn to a partner and pair up to discuss their responses. Give your students a chance to have a good discussion with ...