I have a student….every time she does something well, she says I can do that for a living!
So far, she believes she can be:
a lawyer
a teacher
an accountant
a clothing designer
And today: the CEO of Temu.
I had to tell her what CEO stood for. She said, I’m that, too!
Kids coming to our school or class are not…
🔹Bad kids
🔺SPED kids
🔹Tier kids
🔺Low Kids
🔹RTI Kids
🔺Poor Kids
🔹“So and so’s sibling” kids
🔺Or any other kind of kid.
The kids coming to us are…
🔶LEARNERS.🔶
Every single one of them.
We teach learners, not labels.
If we believe otherwise, shame on us.
Most IEP accommodations, not all, are simply best teaching practices, so why can't we offer more of these to every student so that our classrooms become truly inclusive?
For example...copies of study guide at the beginning of the unit. Why wouldn't everyone benefit from that?
Long vacations rarely cure burnout. They usually bring temporary relief.
The frequency of time off from work matters more than the duration. 2 separate week-long vacations are more restorative than a 2-week trip.
Regular breaks are vital to well-being.
https://t.co/GLDvTsDGOm
Jay Wright (Villanova) was a Culture KING.
Why?
Here are 5 Jay Wright quotes that shed some light💡.
1: “We have a saying that everyone’s role is different, but everyone’s status is the same. It’s a reminder that no matter how bright the spotlight gets, we are all part of something much larger than ourselves.”
- WE > ME
- Be a star in your role
2: “The most important characteristic any of us have is our attitude. It’s a concept that permeates everything you do. We all bring our attitude to every situation.”
- Attitude is everything
- Be an energy giver
3: “We're not complex in what we do X-and-O-wise, but we do spend a lot of time on how we react mentally to every situation.”
- Simple Wins
- Mental toughness
4: “If you think about how good you are as opposed to what the next challenge is going to be, then you’ve already lost. We have to stay humble.”
- Humble wins
- Gratitude matters
5: “After we won in 2016, the goal wasn't to win another [national title]. The goal was to keep our culture strong. We knew that for us, that was the best chance of winning it again. If we tried to win it another way, we weren't going to win it anyway.”
- Culture is Every Day
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Why are we simply handing out hard copies of novels to our whole classroom?
We're excluding anyone who doesn't have foundational reading skills, or who has visual impairment, or who's multilingual.
Instead we need to plan for barriers, so all students can access the text.
Now that school's settling in, remember there are NO:
SPED kids
504 kids
EIP kids
RTI kids
Tier kids
Low kids
Those kids
This kid or
______ kids.
They are ALL kids who can learn high levels.
Treat them that way.
The second you slap a label on them, you treat them otherwise.
Every year we get a new class roster. We scan it over to see how many, do we know any of their siblings, can we recognize any names?
Inevitably at some point, while scanning a name comes up we recognize...or even worse someone looks over our shoulder at our list and makes the unbelievably rude comment of "oh you have him/her. Good luck."
We're educators, yes. But we're also human. We aren't perfect.
So here's my challenge for you. A challenge I also gave to myself every year.
When you're looking through your class roster, or meeting your students, or hearing what others have to say, keep in mind that every single child in your class is someone else's whole world.
The experiences they've had with others does NOT determine the experience they'll have with YOU! Why? Because you're different.
You're going to find the gold within them. You're going to keep working at chipping away at their walls. You're going to allow them a clean slate each day.
Because you're a great teacher.
And I'm so thankful you're in each of those children's lives.
#KidsDeserveIt #LeadAuthentically #education