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A Teacher's Best Friend

Life Coaching for Teachers

Not Good Enough To Teach

You are enough A Teacher's Best Friend (1)

This post is part of my series on Wholehearted Teaching which provides some tips for tackling some of our greatest barriers to being “all in” with our calling as teachers. I previewed the series with a blog on self-compassion (the antidote to perfectionism), my last post was on modeling risk taking and learning from mistakes and failures (the antidote to fear of failure), and today we’ll tackle one of the biggest obstacles – the fear that we are not good enough to teach and that we are simply not enough for our students.

This is a silent killer of teacher’s souls. The thought lurks in the back of our brains. Sometimes never coming to the forefront of our thoughts, but silently wreaking havoc on our ability to be happy in our roles and with our performance as teachers. The truth is – it plays on our deepest fear – that we wouldn’t be good enough at the one thing we care most about – making a difference for our students.  [Read more…]

Model Failing…Forward

Fail Early,Fail Often, But Most Importantly Fail Forward A Teacher's Best Friend

Wholehearted Teaching Series, Post 2:

“In life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. If the possibility of failure were erased, what would you attempt to achieve?” – John C. Maxwell

 

The reason why John C. Maxwell’s book, Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success, is a bestseller is the fact that mistakes and failures are a universal circumstance. We all fail.

As I recall some of my greatest failures in life and in the classroom, I wince. Failure isn’t fun. But it is necessary for growth, learning, and self-actualization. And, since those are the very same goals we have for students, we intuitively understand that failure is important for students to experience.

As wholehearted teachers, we have to model and normalize failure as part of the learning process – and as part of life!  [Read more…]

Teaching With Your Whole Heart

720x A Teachers Best Friend Journal Hello Gorgeous

 

No one denies the power and impact of a great teacher.

There is something intangible that students learn from the greats. Something internal. Something deeper than just understanding the content. It’s something about these teachers personally.

Self-respect. Confidence. Self-Efficacy. Belief. Positivity. Authenticity.

Students are drawn to this type of person. Behavior management is easier and students are engaged. We as humans are naturally drawn to people who exude wholeheartedness and authenticity.

So, the question is, are you teaching wholeheartedly? Are you approaching your classroom from a place of complete authenticity? [Read more…]

Become a Better Teacher

Typewriter with Brene Brown Quote Practice Self Compassion A Teacher's Best Friend Blog Post Become a Better Teacher #Teacher #Self-Compassion #Self-Improvement #Vintage

What is the measuring stick for being a “good teacher”?

There are a million ways that question can be answered. The District might reply “high test scores”. The students might reply, “making learning fun”. The parents might reply “making learning rigorous and applicable to the real world”.

But what would you say? [Read more…]

Why Teachers Need Coaches

Why Teachers Need Coaches

There are coaches for olympic athletes. Coaches for public speakers, singers, and writers. There are coaches for executives. And even coaches for teachers.

Coaching for teachers comes in many forms – collegial coaching and instructional coaching to name a couple. But what about personal coaching? How about professional coaching?

As a teacher, can you talk to your colleagues about “the hard stuff” without feeling as if you are burdening them? Can you talk to your principal about career growth?  [Read more…]

Let’s Be Teacher BFFs!

Lets Be BffsWelcome to A Teacher’s Best Friend! I’m Alison – nice to meet you!!

I’m a former teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, and current BFF to teachers. I began my career as a teacher, so I know that teaching is truly a service profession that requires ongoing connection to passion, strong personal and professional boundaries, and a very strong sense of self and worthiness. I had the passion part – but the rest was very difficult for me, so the passion began to erode and was replaced by a stress-resentment cocktail (Ouch!) that was a recipe for disaster.

However, it also planted a seed that has bloomed into my true life-calling and life’s work – supporting teachers. And I mean REALLY supporting teachers – with what you need deep down in your soul.  [Read more…]

Target of Focus

Enjoy this exercise to help you focus your mind/attention on the things that you choose!

Target-of-FocusDownload

Please leave a question or comment below!

PS – Focusing your mind is a key strategy for beating burnout. Find more resources here.