Self-Reflection
Stay Organized, My Friend
I had a great To Do list to help me get organized. I just don’t know what I To Did with it. or-gan-ized – adjective – having one’s affairs and items in order so as to deal with them efficiently. Does the word organized make you heave a sigh and yearn for the time when that adjective might be used…
Read MoreRethinking Stress
“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” – Hans Selye Teaching is a rewarding yet demanding career – not for the faint of heart. The wearing of numerous hats, pressure from state mandates, schedules that seem to multiply, needs that continuously change, and most importantly – the genuine desire to truly…
Read MoreOwning Less
“A spoonful of decluttering keeps the stress and chaos down.” Mary Poppins may not have said this, but surely she thought it. After all she was all about tidiness. Articles and books are everywhere on the topic of throwing out the excess “things” in your life. The methods they propose may be different, but all…
Read MoreMirror Mirror On the Wall
“Mirror, mirror on the wall. What did I learn after all?” Reflection is a vital piece of the learning puzzle. Unless we examine what we learned and how we learned it, we don’t know what worked well and what needs to be tweaked. The end of the year is a natural time to look back…
Read MoreTricks of the Trade – Be Intentional
“Change is inevitable. Growth is intentional.” – Glenda Cloud The school year is moving quickly, teachers are stretched, and students are growing weary. There are still many days ahead to fill with quality learning opportunities and you want to make each one count, so teach on! Remember – don’t just have good intentions – be…
Read MoreSharing Ideas
Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes. (Peter Senge) This is what we do as teachers…help one another, be it our students or our peers, grow as individuals and as professionals. We do this by sharing what we know…
Read MoreFeedback – The Language of Growth
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” – Ken Blanchard Years of research show that feedback is one of the most powerful influences on achievement. Daily we strive to provide quality feedback to our students, but we also must take the time to provide quality feedback to our colleagues. Feedback is the language of growth. It is…
Read MoreNew Avenues to Better Teaching
This month ERG has focused on Instructional Leadership and Peer Coaching. In one of our recent newsletters it was noted that ” Leadership in education is about learning – and not just the empowerment of student learning. As instructional leaders, teachers assume a wide range of roles to support the learning needs of students –…
Read MorePower of Yet
“There is a difference between not knowing and not knowing yet.” – Shelia Tobias Research is showing that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger and works better the more it is exercised. Each time we work hard, take on a challenge, stretch, and learn something new, our brains form new connections and our…
Read MoreReflection = Growth
“Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things . . . then better yourself.” – Sonya Teclai The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards states, “Thinking analytically about teaching is complicated because teaching is complicated.” Teachers generally have little time for self-analysis and reflection, yet…
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