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Collaboration
In the course I am currently teaching online, I shared my own experiences, both good and horrible, with my students. My hope is that they will learn from my mistakes, as well as my successes. My students are interns all working on the goal of earning their credential. It has been difficult for them to…
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Saying Goodbye to Future Teachers
I have been an online instructor for a university for ten years. Each term, I change my course based on what I feel would enhance the learning of my students. I learn so much from them. I love sharing my experiences and insights. This last term, I decided to try a new course. I sent…
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Emotional Check-in
There are so many factors that contribute to anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and often an inability to cope. Sometimes, it’s hard to verbalize emotions. Children are not immune to stressors. Teachers must be mindful that students may be coming from homes that are chaotic and unstable, contributing to a myriad of behavioral issues. A “check-in” can…
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Move On
I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic or the recent tragic devastation from tornadoes across six states that reminds me of how fragile our time on earth is, or maybe it’s old age, but I have been dwelling on mistakes I’ve made that can’t be undone. It hurts to know that one moment in time…
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“I Wish You Happiness”
Try this. I just might change things…..
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Ableism
I joined a Book Circle with colleagues from Cal Poly. We read Demysifying Disability by Emily Ladau. She is a fierce advocate for disability rights. Each member of the book circle took a chapter to explore and present to the group. I had Chapter 4, Ableism and Accessibility. I decided to extract the quotes I…
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Time-Out
As I sit in my chair looking out at the ocean, I dream of faraway places I have only seen in magazines, or saw once in a movie. I watch the choppy waves and wonder how a cruise ship manages to get the passengers safely to their destination amidst such an angry sea. I need…
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Tips For New Teachers
I put together some tidbits of wisdom that I gathered as a teacher, as well as insights from mistakes I have made and learned from. I hope they are of value to you.
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Name Calling
Children will own the names you call them. Choose your words carefully. This is good advice for teachers, but especially important that parents know this too. They are a child’s first teacher. Call them scholars, call them friends, call them writers, call them mathematicians, call them scientists, call them teachers, call them helpers, call them…
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We All Shine Differently
Standardized testing requirements are designed to hold teachers, students, and schools accountable for academic achievement and to incentivize improvement. They provide a benchmark for assessing problems and measuring progress, highlighting areas for improvement. Despite these key benefits, standardized academic achievement tests in US public schools have been controversial since their inception. Major points of contention…
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My Advice to Parents
I did not do my best with my own children in regards to parenting. It has been through years of higher education and many years as a teacher that has shown me the results of both good and bad parenting. I am committed to being a good grandmother. Although I cannot change the past, I…
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When Life Gives You Scraps…..
My sewing room is my happy place. It serves as my craft room as well as my office. It’s cooler downstairs, so on hot summer days I often go to my sewing/craft/office to relax. I am an avid follower of crafty blogs that repurpose fabric and findings to make interesting objects of beauty. My most…
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Random Thoughts
The day I became a grandmother I began evaluating my life, or I should say reevaluating it. I realized that this beautiful child is not mine and I am a part of a much bigger picture, yet only a part. What part do I play? As a retired elementary teacher I know the joy of…
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“I Wish You Happiness”
Try this. I just might change things…..
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Stop and Be Still
I learn so much from my grandchildren. They teach me how to enjoy the moment. They teach me to be still and absorb sights and sounds that I have taken for granted. I have learned to see nature through their eyes. It fills me with optimism and hope that the new generation will not take…
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Move On
I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic or the recent tragic devastation from tornadoes across six states that reminds me of how fragile our time on earth is, or maybe it’s old age, but I have been dwelling on mistakes I’ve made that can’t be undone. It hurts to know that one moment in time…
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Outdoor Play
This picture brought to mind how my cousins and I would make do with whatever was handy to create our own environment for play. We didn’t need expensive toys or electronic devices to entertain us, our imaginations did the work. Our creativity flourished in our grandmother’s garage that housed boxes of old clothes that we…
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Finding Joy
I have taken a break from any kind of “must do” or social media that tends to take me down a rabbit hole. I have been taking an internal inventory of my values to make sure I am living in alignment with them. It has been a journey of the soul, one that has opened…
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Name Calling
Children will own the names you call them. Choose your words carefully. This is good advice for teachers, but especially important that parents know this too. They are a child’s first teacher. Call them scholars, call them friends, call them writers, call them mathematicians, call them scientists, call them teachers, call them helpers, call them…
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Feeling Safe
Feeling protected provides us with warmth, confidence and security. Feeling wanted leads to feeling safe. Being safe is the absence of beating yourself up or feeling that all that is good in your life is a moment away from vanishing forever. When you are protected, you know deeply that you deserve to live in a…
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A Little Love
More important than me loving you, is you loving yourself. I’ve been thinking a lot about self-love and how it is not selfish to love and care for yourself. Sadness, loneliness and despair can keep you trapped in a downward spiral. Self-pity can wrap around you like a poisonous vine. I love a quote from…
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Quit Now
The time to hit the redo button is now.
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I Am a Book Lover
I have been reading more in the last 14 months than I ever have. Being the owner of at least fifty books that been collecting dust, I kept promising myself I would use the pandemic as an opportunity to catch up on my reading. I am glad to report that I completed almost every book.…
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