Many of us teachers struggle with perfectionism. Turns out – it’s more pervasive than we could ever imagine! Every. single. person. deals with perfectionism on some level. None of us are immune to it. Instead of thinking about perfectionism as “you have it” or “you don’t” – try thinking about it on a continuum. [Read more…]
Trusting your Instinct as a Teacher
Do you ever find yourself writing and rewriting and re-rewriting an email to a colleague, parent, or your principal? Do you question yourself, doubt yourself, or feel unsure? Whether it is an instructional decision, a difficult conversation, or our own feelings – why is it so difficult for us to trust our instincts? [Read more…]
Organization Tips for Back to School
Last year during back-to-school season, I wrote a post that got lots of hits on staying organized. So I decided to update it with some of the new tricks and hacks I learned this year! Enjoy!!
I’m a self-proclaimed organization ‘geek’. Nothing makes me more happy than school supplies on sale this time of year. In fact, when I was little, I would save up my money to go to the office supply store and buy folders, pens, and sticky-notes. I know…I was a teacher in the making for sure!
But the good news about all that is that creating organization systems is something that comes relatively easy for me. And since I get some (geeky) satisfaction out of labeling and organizing, my systems are always being examined and retooled (or….that may just be a justification for buying more office supplies…)
So here are my best organization tips for back to school:
Your Best School Year Yet
Each year at this back-to-school season, we teachers feel filled with anticipation, motivation, hopes, and some nerves. I don’t know a single teacher – no matter how veteran – who doesn’t still have a bit of anxiety going back to school. And I think part of the anxiety is because we want to get better and better every single year. We raise the bar for ourselves with each new school year! So…How can you set yourself up to have your best school year yet? [Read more…]
Faith Driven Educators
While my coaching business is not a Christian coaching business, I am a Christ-follower, and as such, when teachers come to me who are of faith, we explore the role that their faith plays in their teacher life. The teachers I work with who have a strong sense of faith – Christian or otherwise – feel a deep and fulfilling sense of purpose in their lives. That’s why I’ve collaborated with Miss Tierraney to create a new community for teachers of faith called, Faith Driven Educators.
I Dropped the Ball
Don’t you just HATE dropping the ball? It literally makes. me. cringe. (I’ve told you I’m a recovering perfectionist, haven’t I?!) For me, dropping the ball is one of the most vulnerable things I can do. How do you drop the ball gracefully? (Is that even a thing?) [Read more…]
A Crazy Good Year
I am at my computer literally crying. I cannot believe how my life has changed in the past year. Exactly a year ago, God answered a prayer I had prayed for 32 years. He finally whispered into my ear His purpose for my life – the answer to my questions: what am I meant to do in this world?
Now here I am, a year later, doing life coaching for teachers – working to help teachers live the lives they dreamed of when they said “yes!” to this profession. It’s blowing. me. away. [Read more…]
Stay out of Survival Mode in 2016
Teaching seems to always be synonymous with Busy. And Busy’s crazy cousins Stressed and Overwhelmed seem to never be too far behind either.
Enter Survival Mode where Busy, Stress, and Overwhelmed climb into the driver’s seat of life and we’re left hanging on to the bumper for dear life.
So – how do you get OUT of survival mode? Better yet – how do you stay out of survival mode by never going into survival mode?
Best Blogs of 2015
This is a really fun blog post to write because as I sit here, thinking back on the blogs I’ve written over the year, I can’t help but smile at how far this work has come. This work – through A Teacher’s Best Friend, has fundamentally changed me. I can never go back to the version of me that didn’t know my purpose in this world – to help teachers become their most wholehearted selves – and in the process become my most wholehearted self.
Best Wholehearted Teaching Reads of 2015
I love to read and this year has been a CRAZY BUSY reading year! I’ve read some of the most impactful books of my life this year, so I wanted to take the opportunity to share them with you!!