Happy New School Year!

One of the best things about teaching is we get two New Years instead of just one, two new beginnings, two  fresh starts. I love it.  What will you do to make this school year the best one ever?  Here is a list of ten suggestions by various teacher friends to make this your best year ever.




1.  Be that teacher, the one who is enthusiastic and  excited.

2.  Cultivate and maintain relationships with positive people. Have you ever noticed what an energy drain negative people are? Learn to minimize interactions with them and look for people who love what they do.

3. Celebrate your successes with as much energy as you do your mistakes.

4. Do fewer things better. Focus one or two professional skills you want to hone and do it.

5. Be grateful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves and each other. Say thank you ten times a day and watch your happiness grow.

6. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses.  Take an unflinching inventory of yourself before school starts and decide what you can do to improve your weakness.

7. Love and respect every child every day no matter what.

8. Be transparent. This means teaching at all times as if the world were watching.

9. Get enough exercise and sleep.

10. Laugh and smile often.

 Remember, you are the most valuable resource you have. Happy School Year!

Link of the Week 

Top Ten Movies for Teachers

                            

Teachers change lives. These movies show good teachers making a difference just like you do. Keep up the good work every body.  What you do matters and it matters most now. 

Coach Carter  Ken Carter shows what happens when a teacher really believes in his students and is determined to make a difference.

Finding Forester: Once a teacher, always a teacher. You never stop caring about kids.

 Stand and Deliver  Jaime Escalante is an example of what happens when a teacher has high expectations in the face of opposition. 

Lean on Me Joe Clark takes back his inner city school. 

Music of the Heart A music teacher overcomes  discipline, apathy and opposition from parents to create a life changing music program.

October Sky  A young teacher helps a boy follow his dream and reach for the stars.

Up The Down Staircase An idealistic teacher confronts reality with courage and discovers her passion. 

To Have and To Have  A patient teacher who demands respect without being stern and creates a community of love and learning.

The Water is Wide    Pat Conroy's passion for his students bring out the best in him and them. 

To Sir With Love The timeless story of a teacher who changes the lives of his students and is changed himself in the process.

Are You Laying Bricks or Building a Cathedral?

Why do you teach?  There are as many answers to that as there are teachers.  It's a question worth asking yourself from time to time because it's your strongest motivation. It's what keeps you going when you rather wouldn't.  I teach because I believe in democracy and believe that public education is vital to that. There's also recess, reading aloud, and tater tots. Mainly though, I teach because it is my deepest calling. It's where my soul and the world meets. Three men were working on a building site. When asked what they were doing, the first man answered ‘I am laying bricks.’ The second said ‘I am making a wall’ and the third replied ‘I am building a cathedral’.  Why do you teach?