Self-Reflection
Give Them a Purpose
My youngest child has developed a love for horses. This love has grown exponentially over the last few years and honestly, as a busy mom, I have provided the minimum amount of support for this hobby. Despite this, I am becoming a barn mom. Because she is young and inexperienced, I have stayed at the…
Read MoreBelonging: Books for Middle Schoolers
Coming to terms with your heritage, learning to love and trust someone else, and accepting others for who they are form the core themes of the middle school books listed below. You’ll learn to love these characters by looking at them through their eyes and the eyes of those around them. These books are a…
Read MoreBelonging – When I Becomes We
“When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We’ – even illness becomes wellness.” – Malcolm X My heart soared while watching the news the other day – and that rarely happens. In a sea of negativity, Mr. Barry White Jr. was a shining example of what is right with education. This remarkable fifth grade English teacher…
Read MoreEmbrace the Mess
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end!” – Robin Sharma I am living proof that learning is messy. While rushing through my Saturday morning chores, I hurriedly threw the laundry into the machine. There were just a couple more towels than usual – and I didn’t want…
Read MoreWhen Passion is the Problem
From the desk of Alice… I recently had a conversation with a teacher who is in her 6th year of teaching. She is dedicated, professional, has non-instructional duties under control, has a growth mindset and is fully focused on best practices with teaching and learning. This particular teacher taught several years ago and is back…
Read MorePeople Who Need People
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to figure out what my passion in life is. There are lots of things I enjoy doing, but figuring out what makes me tick, what I have to have to exist has been difficult to say the least. Then one morning a friend called unexpectedly. Suddenly…
Read MoreWhy Broken Hearts Aren't A Bad Thing
From the desk of Alice… We have decided to take a cue from Brené Brown at ERG and spend a year daring greatly. As part of our year, our theme for January is PASSION. This is one of those things that draws educators right into the idea of teaching. We have a passion of some…
Read MoreSecrets That Are Not So Secret
I love a list. And I really love a countdown list so you can imagine how much fun I have this time of year when there are endless things to count down for the year. I have seen lists for books, movies, music, food, sports, and I recently saw a list on social media called…
Read MoreReclaim The Break
Yall- it’s time to reclaim the holiday break. Educators are some seriously busy people and in our house we go about a hundred miles an hour for weeks on end and it is truly time for a break. I have learned over the years, that we often have a hard time giving ourselves permission to…
Read MorePedagogy – Reflecting on Your Strengths
“There’s no cookie-cutter template for teachers. The most important thing is to know your strengths.” – Sherida Britt, Director of Tools for Teachers with ASCD Pedagogy is another word for education, the profession and the discipline of teaching. It is the substance of teachers’ daily lives. It has been described as: The art of teaching…
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