Learning to Grow Every Day

Teaching and connecting with students is one of my life’s passions. If I could teach five days a week all year and eliminate grading I would. There are always going to be aspects of our jobs or daily lives that we don’t like doing. However, they are necessary for the job. Giving your best effort no matter what the task is so important. I put everything I have into grading, even though it isn’t my favorite thing to do. I would much rather be planning how I’m going to connect with my students the next day. However, I often hear students saying that assignments are pointless or that they have senioritis, and they do not want to do an assignment. I see that as ingratitude for the opportunity you have been given, the opportunity to learn and grow as a person. Education is an incredible gift that we take for granted in the United States. Being able to teach in a job that allows me the freedom with my curriculum and the privilege of pouring into students on a daily basis is something that I s...

Would you rather always speak the truth or everything you say will end up coming true? A couple weeks ago one of my students asked me this very question. My first instinct was to say that I would always rather speak the truth. However, the more I thought about it, I began to change my mind. While it is admirable to always speak the truth, it might allow us to become better listeners if everything we said came true. Let me explain. Our precept for this month is “Listen First.” This has carried over into many of our class conversations. One of the ways I evaluate students during our “Fishbowl Discussions” is their attentiveness. Sure, talking during a discussion seems obvious, but sometimes really listening to what others have to say first can help us form our thoughts and extend compassion to others. When we take extra time to respond we are able to carefully measure what we say. If all of us took a little more time to listen rather than respond, we might say less. When i...

Even though my oldest child is only three-years-old, I have a hard time remembering what life was like before kids. Sure, it is exhausting sometimes, but it is so worth it. Not a day goes by that I don’t laugh out loud about something one of my kids does or says. Kids truly do say the darndest. My kids certainly help keep me grounded and they don’t care if I had a bad day, they love me just the same. I don’t think any of us can truly understand unconditional love until they have their own kids. Even when they mess up and do something bad, we still love them and want the best for them. I was having a conversation with my advisory the other day about their attitude toward their parents. They sometimes feel like their parents don’t love them or they treat them too harshly. I reminded them that their parents are usually acting out of love and fear. I think that teenagers begin to think of their parents as the evil empire, only to realize when they are 25 that they are actually pretty cool ...

Our society moves at breakneck speed. Although we seemingly have an endless supply of technological tools to streamline processes and make our lives easier, we are actually busier than ever. Lately, I have been feeling the stress of all of the items of my to-do list. Whether the task is lesson planning, grading, meeting with students, paying bills, doing yard work, or any number of tasks, it has become increasingly more overwhelming to fit all that in while making sure to save time for spending with family and, here is the most important part, being truly present for the things most important. We cannot pretend to spend time with family if we are not truly present and listening. But, what about all of those items on our to-do list? I find myself often thinking about those tasks when I should be more present. I also find that the more I focus and worry about those tasks, the more I don’t physically feel like myself. I began asking myself, the other day, what I can do to help center...