Learning to Grow Every Day

In a moment of vulnerability, I would like to explore the idea of self-belief. This has not always come easy to me. Self-doubt so easily creeps into our minds on a daily basis and can cripple our productivity. When we believe the lies about ourselves, it is difficult to move from the impossible to the probable. Rather than thinking about ourselves as not talented enough, not athletic enough, not smart enough, we should focus on our strengths and developing the right habits. I have always been fascinated by grit and persistence, which I will blog more about later. However, I recently came across a tweet by author and motivational speaker, Jon Gordon . Gordon speaks in great detail about positivity and using our strengths to propel us forward. As you can see from the screenshot include in this post, Gordon speaks to those habits we can control rather than the arbitrary skill that is assigned to each of us by the world. Even if you don’t have the most skill, you can be on time, ...

While my reading life has slowed down some in the past month with the business of home and school, I am still really enjoying the process of selecting books and listening/reading with a purpose. I am learning so much about myself and about different cultures, and ideologies with some of the books I have read this year. That journey continues with my most recent selection, Hillbilly Elegy . Hillbilly Elegy was written by J.D. Vance whose family originally hailed from rural Kentucky coal country before moving to Middletown, Ohio. He mixes the stories of his youth with an argument that affixes the blame of the poor “hillbillies” on themselves. He claimed that it was largely “learned helplessness” that has led to the plight of many poor working whites, who have taken advantage of the welfare system and feel that no matter what they do, they cannot improve their condition in life (Vance). When I first started reading the book, I was taken aback by the premise that we should be taking...

In any career, we need time to “re-fill our bucket” so to speak. It is so easy to get bogged down in the little details of the teaching profession and it is not uncommon to get stale. That is why it is important to do something to reset and give ourselves a spark. This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the GAR Educator’s conference . It was such a great conference and gave me some ideas to think about. 1. One of the main speakers spoke about the need to understand the unconscious bias that we all carry with us when it comes to race, gender, religion, etc. It is so important to recognize when it is happening and be more intentional in our thoughts and actions. 2. The first breakout session I attended was about Growth Mindset. While I have read many articles and books about Growth Mindset, the speakers brought home the point that it all starts with the teacher. If the teacher does not demonstrate a growth mindset on a consistent basis and really mean it, it is going t...