Category: Purpose

Linda Markley

The Teacher SPIRIT

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, Learning Lessons, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Resources, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher hero, teacher self-care, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

Like so many educators today, I left the educational profession because my school “SPIRIT” was suffering.

I didn’t know what that meant at the time or exactly how to describe it because really I was focused on my poor health and inability to walk very far without my legs giving out on me.

I left the profession “broken” both physically and mentally.

I literally had “fallen”, and I could’t get up.

I was lost with no sense or real direction(s).

So, when I walked across Spain on the Camino Francés, with each step I took and each person I met and each experience I had, I learned a lesson.

And these lessons eventually led me back to my true teaching SPIRIT.

I wanted to share the lessons from my journey with others, especially teachers, to somehow help them find their way back to their true SPIRIT.

I founded The Spirit of Teaching, created a website of resources and started a podcast called Teacher Tales in which teachers can tell their stories of teaching and what makes up a true teaching SPIRIT.

Of course being a teacher and in the field of education, I developed an acronym to help remember the qualities and aspirations of a true teaching SPIRIT (which is why it is capitalized and really should have periods in between each letter).

They can be found on this website and shared with others.

Check them out here.  

Print them out and put them in your plan book.

Journal about them.

Post the mantras and “yellow arrow” guides around your classroom, home, office, car, etc.

There are even more resources that can help guide you and keep you on your intended path.

Check them out here.

You also might want to purchase my book Learning Lessons which is a real treasure trove of insight, resources, guidance and activities that you can use to help inspire and guide you back to your own True Self and the teaching SPIRIT in all of us!

Link to purchase Learning Lessons.

 

Photo credit:

created by Linda Markley in Canva

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Linda Markley

Modeling

calling to make a difference, communication, creating community, Intention, Purpose, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

As a Spanish teacher, I often told my students that I was going to be their “modelo” and then, I would jokingly “strike a pose” as in Madonna’s song, Vogue.

They got a kick out of that, but honestly and truly, I felt that I was a model for them in everything that I said and did every day.

The word “model” can mean many things today, but mostly we use it to refer to someone in the fashion industry or when we refer to cars/appliances/ technology.

One of the definitions of “model” is “a system or thing used as an example to follow or imitate”.

The etymology of the word is from Latin, modulus, meaning “a standard for imitation or comparison.”  (etymonline.com)

So, as teachers, we are setting a “standard for imitation” for our students to follow. 

Our words, our actions, our tone, our body language, our choices, our everything.

So, this could go either way.

If we yell, disrespect and dismiss our students, we are modeling and setting a standard for them to imitate and do the same to us and others.

If we speak kindly, thoughtfully and see and hear our students, we are modeling and setting a standard for them to imitate and do the same to us and others.

This happens everywhere, not only in the classroom. 

As teachers, we are not just role models to children, but also as humans, we are role models to other humans.

Let me give a few real world examples I have experienced. (more…)

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Linda Markley

I Beg to Differ

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

Happy New Year 2024!

As we move into a new calendar year and the second half of another school year, I wanted to reflect a little with you about our differences.

The great Fred Rogers once said:

“Something else children need is the understanding that 

every person is 

DIFFERENT.

With that understanding can come children’s appreciation

of their own differences and the courage to 

be who they are – 

each one different from everybody else.”

Sometimes variations of this word DIFFERENT can get confusing in education and in how it is implemented into a school’s best practices.

There is an enormous focus and demand for DIFFERENTiation in the classroom as a result of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act).

We need to meet a student where they are. Then, we can figure out and accommodate all the different ways that child learns and succeeds. We don’t want to leave any child behind, and we do want them to succeed. 

However, I feel that what is said and what is practiced in education sometimes are very far apart. In fact, they are usually quite opposite.

I am a like a broken record now with voicing my perspective that we are preaching out of the box, differentiated and accommodating strategies for learning, YET…we are standardizing everything and expecting every child to jump into the same box WE have created for them.

AND, there is now a current trend to allow for fewer and fewer differences among children. 

There is even legislation being passed to not allow children to see something or someone different from themselves because of fear of indoctrinating them to a different way of thinking or being.

It is a fact that our brain is wired to see differences first before similarities. Perhaps that is so that we can be curious to learn more about those differences rather than be afraid of them?

Or is it for survival – what is different is a threat to my safety, well being, etc.?

As Fred Rogers says, it takes COURAGE, and as we know, there is a lot of fear permeating the walls of the classroom today.

So, how can we differentiate as well as allow for differences in the classroom 

in order to create a more nurturing, supportive learning environment 

for children (and teachers, for that matter!) and therefore,

MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Happy Endings

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Resources, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

The end of the first semester of classes is upon us.

We have all been working hard for almost 18 weeks now trying to teach, learn and achieve goals.

We have had good days.

We have had bad days.

We have had ups.

We have had downs.

We have had fun.

We have had drama.

We have been sad, happy, angry, frustrated and all around the emotional block many times…in one day even!

Just like a story playing out in a movie.

The classroom is a reflection of life and the world we live in.

The question is…will we make our story this semester into a horror story, a drama, a comedy, a tale of super-human powers or will we choose to make it a love story with a happy ending?

It IS the season of Hallmark movies, you know!

There is a lot of push-back about toxic positivity in education.

There is also a lot of push-back about calling teachers heroes.

Nonetheless, I will always be in the positive charge for energy in the classroom.

AND, I also know a lot about the Hero’s Journey as described by Joseph Campbell, and I will always believe that each and every one of us is the hero of our own story and journey in life.

So, how can we have a happy ending to this first semester, even though it may not have met all our expectations or we haven’t met all our goals or the students have not measured up to our standards? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Permanent Records

Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, making connections, Purpose, Spirit of teaching

As educators, we are all familiar with permanent records in schools.

According to a Poe.com, a permanent record is:

“a collection of student’s academic and personal information, such as grades, attendance, disciplinary actions and other details that are kept on file by the school. The purpose of these records is to provide a comprehensive history of the student’s educational experience, which can be used for a variety of purposes, such as college applications, job references or other academic opportunities.”

I have always been curious as to why we call these records “permanent” because don’t we want students to learn, grow, change, evolve and move forward on their path in life, academically and personally?

It also flies a little in the face of my linguistic and etymological sense of the word as well as my spiritual belief about nothing being permanent.

The word permanent is from the Latin word permanentem, meaning “enduring, unchanging, lasting indefinitely”.

The learning journey of a student seems to me like it should change, grow and continue throughout a lifetime. 

Learning is not a one-and-done thing. 

Don’t we talk about creating “lifelong learners” in education all the time?!

So, why, again, would we call these permanent records?

Let’s look at the word record.

For record (noun), I think of an LP album which is round and turns around and around in circles.

Is this like a learning cycle or like when content is spiraled throughout the learning journey?

When we look at the verb form to record (different pronunciation – ah, English!), it comes from the French word recorder, which means “to tell, repeat or recite”.

Well that seems about right in education!

Teachers do a lot of telling, students do a lot of repeating and reciting…not the best practices, for sure!

Words are powerful, and can be interpreted in many ways.

Again, one part of the lens through which I see the world and my place in it!

I strongly feel that we need to change the name of folder with a “student’s academic and personal information” throughout their K-12 learning journey to something that aligns more with what we are really envisioning for students…in other words, the true purpose of an education.

Some schools have come to call this a student’s “cumulative folder”. 

Basically, the same thing, just with a different name.

However, the word “cumulative” seems to be less harsh than being “permanent” and indicate that there has been change, growth and learning that has been accumulated over the years, like a collection of knowledge and accomplishments.

The word “folder” too brings forth a more positive and empowering image of a place to store knowledge, information and a history of research and findings driven by curiosity and discovery.  On the other hand, the word record can be associated with more negative contexts like criminal or bad driving…record.

Maybe I have given this way too much thought, energy and brain power, but it really has all stemmed from my heart (through the Vagus Nerve!)

Neither of these terms land well in my gut, so I have had many mental musings about what we should call this. 

What would align more with what the learning journey through school and even beyond into our lifelong learning be until the day we die (which is when the learning opportunities stop for all of us!)

Maybe “learning portfolio”?

The etymology of portfolio is from Italian portafoglio meaning “a movable receptacle or case for carrying detached papers”.

With every experience, both in and out of the classroom, we learn something that we carry with us throughout the rest of our journey in life.

The path, the life, the success or outcome of a student’s life cannot be determined solely by the academic or personal information or experiences that they have had.

Lives can be turned around.

Different choices can be made and different contexts pursued.

We always have the power to change the course of our path in life.

As Henry David Thoreau once said:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined”. 

Nothing is permanent.

Nothing is set in stone.

No-“thing” can stand in your way and block your path forward. 

There is no permanent record to our lives!

Only a learning portfolio that we can carry with us and that will help us to continue on our path through a lifetime of learning.

 

Photo credit:  https://unsplash.com/@craftedbygc 

 

 

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Linda Markley

The Big Question

calling to make a difference, communication, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Beside doing this blog, I also send out a weekly newsletter called the Sunday Spirit Spark as well as host a podcast called Teacher Tales.

You can check all of these out at Spirit of Teaching

I started this journey for the Spirit of Teaching during the pandemic when I witnessed my beloved friends and colleagues and profession struggling and suffering and losing their compass and direction.

The question that came up a lot was WHY?

Why should I keep doing this when kids don’t even show up for the Zoom meeting or keep their cameras on or do their work or ???

Why should I put my health and well-being on the line in a pandemic?

Why should I even care if no one else cares?

Why?  Why?  Why?  echoed through the hearts of teachers across the world more than ever before.  

In fact, post-pandemic, it is still simmering in the background of every teacher’s mind as more and more challenges come about.

Challenges like teachers being told that they can’t teach certain things or have certain books in their libraries or talk about certain topics or do certain activities in class o push back against excessively aggressive and bullying parents and students. The list goes on…

The big question in the classroom has always been and always will be WHY? 

So, today I was doing a podcast recording with a teacher who said that in order to keep his focus and stay in the profession, he had to always remind himself of his “WHY?”

Why did I become a teacher?

Why do I show up every day at school?

Why ___________?  fill in the blank (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Art of Teaching

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, Introspection, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

Mark Van Doren, American poet, writer and professor at Columbia University said:

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”.

Teaching truly is an art form.

Each teacher is a unique artist creating a masterpiece lesson plan into which they put their own carefully chosen objects, colors, shadings, meaning and a bit of themselves.

A masterful teacher creates this masterpiece lesson, and then, like any work of art, invites the viewer/recipient to explore, discover and learn at their own pace and in their own way.

A work of art is personal and sensory and contextual.

Yet it is also universal and appeals to the humanity in all of us.

Lessons need to be personal, sensory and contextual in order to become meaningful.

They also need to be universal and teach us the “greater understandings” of life.

When something is personally meaningful to us, we make a connection…literally brain and heart connections.

This is the magic of teaching, and what may be missing in some classrooms today because of various factors.

Why has this changed, and what can a teacher do 
to become a masterful artist at their craft? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Hocus-Pocus Teaching in Scary Times

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, making connections, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

It is October, and things are heating up for teachers as the weather cools down.

FALL is in the air.

Teachers may feel like things are not “falling” into place or that they are “falling” down on the job because it is the end of the grading period, and they are having a hard time keeping up with…

…too many students trying to make up work they should have done weeks ago

…too many parents reacting negatively, and yes, even aggressively (bullying) because their    child does not have the grade they want them to have and, somehow, that’s the teacher’s fault

…too many emails, meetings, papers to grade, parent conferences, admin visits for evaluation

…too many things to JUGGLE

Teachers maybe need a little bit of HOCUS-POCUS.

Did you know that the origin of the phrase HOCUS-POCUS is from the Latin phrase hicce es doctus, which means here is the learned man. (etymonline.com). 

The phrase eventually became used by jugglers and magicians to refer to their craft/sleight of hand.

Nowadays, the phrase “hocus-pocus” conjures up the wildly popular Disney film of the same name, which has just released a part 2.

So, what do Fall, Hocus-Pocus, October, jugglers, magicians and teachers have in common?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Cherished Memories

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Intention, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

There is no doubt that the impact a teacher has on the life of a student, and eventually on the world, is inestimable.

The impact can be positive or negative and last a lifetime…for better or for worse.

When children come to the classroom, teachers have the opportunity to create a bond and nurture a relationship with each and every child through the choices we make and the experiences we create through the lessons and activities in which we actively engage those children.

Teachers feel this in the heart and soul of their being. It can be quite a burden to carry, but it can also be the most uplifting, invigorating and everlasting joy they can experience in life!

When we decide to become a teacher, our hearts enter into a lifelong commitment…for better or for worse…to love each and every child, unconditionally. 

It is not always easy, loving or joyful, and many, MANY days our commitment may begin to wain and our hearts begin to shrink a little and have less capacity for joy, passion and love.

Nonetheless, it is ALWAYS there, just like our founding love that helped create a bond in any relationship or “marriage” of connection to another.

There are always cherished memories that we create with others through our bond and connection that will live in our hearts forever.

So, we need to keep reminders and mementos of them close by to help us come back to our heart center and remember the WHY in what we are doing and the choices were are making.

How do we do create and keep 
those cherished memories near and dear to our hearts?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Let’s Celebrate!

Can do's, communication, creating community, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

As an extremely difficult school year for all comes to a close, I call everyone together to CELEBRATE.

(key up the Celebration song by Kool and the Gang???)

The end of the year does signal a feeling of “good times” coming…a.k.a. = the summer!

Well, for some maybe. I know many school districts are having summer school to help those students who have a “learning gap” or are somehow considered “behind”.

Many teachers are celebrating because they are leaving the profession all together and don’t have to put up with the stress and unreasonable demands that are causing them poor mental and physical health.

Seniors and their families are celebrating because they have reached a milestone in their educational journey and are graduating from high school.

The etymology of the word celebrate is from Latin celebrare meaning “to assemble to honor and sing praises of”

No matter how teachers, parents, admin, students, districts 
or anyone else may view this past school year, 
there is always something to celebrate!

Let’s honor and sing the praises of all the teachers, students, parents and everyone in the educational system for getting through the school year the best way they knew how, with the circumstances and obstacles they faced and with the limited resources of time, money, energy and sometimes support that they received.

Celebrate, honor and praise all the little things that became big things like:

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Sparkle and Shine

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Who doesn’t like when things “sparkle and shine”?

As you can probably guess, the word “sparkle” is related to the word “spark”.

In the classroom, there are a lot of sparks flying from conflicts, stress, tension, confrontation, negative emotions and actions… you get the picture.

So, how can we turn “sparks” into “sparkle” and shine? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Discipline in the Classroom (and Beyond)

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, making connections, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

This word is the focus of much discussion when it comes to the classroom and teachers.

The word, itself, has such an interesting etymology. If we take a look at the different origins and usages of the word as related to the classroom and education, it gets even more interesting.

According to etymonline.com, here are some insights:

*from Old French descepline “discipline, physical punishment; teaching; suffering; martyrdom”

*from Latin disciplina “instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge,”

*related to the word disciple “one who follows another for the purpose of learning,”

So much has been researched and written about the topic of discipline in the classroom.

Today, it is referred to as “classroom management”.

No matter what we call it, first year teachers struggle with it. 

And now, in the pandemic, even veteran teachers are struggling with it.

So, what can teachers do?

Use a “discipline ladder” or some other “system of behavior accountability” as they are called today? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Follow the Directions

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

“Follow the directions” is a fundamental phrase used in the classroom.

Teachers get really, REALLY frustrated when students don’t follow the directions.

I understand how important directions, procedures and processes are in keeping an organized and smoothly operating classroom of 20, 30 + students, especially young ones.

HOWEVER, I also feel that sometimes we follow directions too stringently and cause ourselves undue stress. It can also open the door to a flood of judgment and shame.

The word “direction” comes from the Latin word directionem, meaning to make a straight line.

If my geometry knowledge serves me well, a direct, straight line is the shortest route between two points…a beginning and an end.

But WHAT IF, the learning journey is not the shortest distance nor the most “direct” path between two points, the starting point at the beginning, and an end point at the destination (end?)

WHAT IF the directions we receive are not the straight on nor the same for every person? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Believe!

Can do's, i am enough, Intention, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher hero, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

The power of belief is truly inestimable!

As teachers, especially, it is our greatest super-power. To believe in a child, in their potential and in their value has a more lasting and meaningful impact on their lives than any content we could ever get them to master and appreciate.

Times are tough right now though, and mustering up the power of belief is hard.

The pandemic has become like Kryptonite for teachers, and they feel like they have lost their power to do anything meaningful or effective.

So, how do we tap into that power of belief again? (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Kindness Game

calling to make a difference, creating community, Intention, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies

Happy World Kindness Day 2021!  

World Kindness Day is celebrated all around the world every year on November 13th. It was introduced in 1998 by the World’s Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations’ kindness NGO’s.

You can learn more about it here.

I am a HUGE proponent of bringing more kindness into this world!

Want to bring more kindness into your world? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Place Value in the Classroom Today

calling to make a difference, creating community, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

Place value is truly an educational term that gets emblazoned into our brains very early on as we learn numbers and how they operate in mathematical equations.

According to the dictionary, “place value is the numerical value that a digit has by virtue of its position in a number”.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on.

And the Mayans came up with the concept of the absence of value, which they represented by the number zero.

Hmmm, so this is all great. I used to teach math once upon a time. 

However, nowadays,  I am thinking about place value in the classroom in other terms. (more…)

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Linda Markley

Grace

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

One of my favorite quotes, and one by which I try to live my life is:

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.

You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I tried to live by this wisdom in the classroom and teach it to my students as well.

To me, grace is the sweet nectar that can bring bliss to our lives. 
It is what makes us whole.

Another quote about grace that has had an impact on me too is from Anne Lamott.  

“I do not understand the mystery of grace –

only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.”  

 

I believe that grace is one of the greatest needs we have in the classroom today in order to achieve real growth and learning gains as human beings.

We don’t need more technology, testing, checklists, standards, evaluations or money.

We desperately need more grace in the classroom…especially now as we move forward after a very difficult school year trying to make our way teaching and learning in a pandemic.

“Grace” comes from the Latin word “gratia” meaning “favor, mercy, good will, gratitude”.

In Spanish, the expression for “please” is “por favor” or “by favor”. It implies the potential “pleasing” or “favorite” nature of the act.

In French, the expression for “thank you” is “merci”. In Italian, it is “grazie”; in Spanish, “gracias”.

Grace is an interaction, a communication, an intention from the heart. 

Grace is the love and mercy we have received from others and that we, in turn, give back to the world.

Grace is a choice that we make in every single moment of our lives. 

Grace is a conscious choice we make to bring more mercy, goodwill and gratitude into the world through our thoughts and actions.

So, what does grace look like in the classroom, and why is is so critical? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Joy

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Strategies, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

Do you remember the song, Joy in My Heart?

It starts like this:  “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” 

So many teachers and students do not feel the joy down in their hearts these days.

It is a struggle now more than ever for everyone because of the pandemic. Joy seems to have left the classroom like “Elvis has left the building”. Especially at this time of the school year, there is a prevalent feeling of “the music has stopped, and the concert is over!”  A mood of “I’m done!”

I won’t go into detail and describe the atmosphere and culture of current feelings in the classroom because I think everyone already knows and understands what it is like. 

I want to focus more on how we can dig deep down in our hearts and find that joy again.

This is what Maya Angelou has to say about joy:

“Joy is a freedom. It helps a person to find his/her own liberation. The person who is joyous takes responsibility for the time he/she takes up and the space that he/she occupies.You share it! When you continue to give it away, you will still have so much more of it!”

There is an overwhelming cry from the hearts of teachers to be free. “I just want to teach.” has become an ironic cliché in education. Teachers feel so burdened and overwhelmed and unappreciated and unsupported and….(name the emotion).

So, how can we bring forth more joy into the classroom, and why is it so important?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Love

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

This is a really, REALLY tough time of year for teachers and students. 

They come back from Spring Break only to face testing and admin in overdrive and red-lining their list of demands to “wrap things up” for this school year. *note – the definition of redlining is: “drive with (a car engine) at or above its rated maximum rpm or revolutions per minute”

Yep…sounds about right! Teachers and students are being driven to their maximum limits.

As a result, anxiety, anger, frustration, shaming, blaming, screaming and all other kinds of negative and “ugly” human behaviors are raging through schools.

And in a pandemic… well, that is just adding gas on an already out of control, raging fire!

So, what can teachers, students, parents, admin and everyone do right now? 

Remember that love conquers all…love makes the world go round (revolutions)…all you need is love…

and the epitome of all quotes on love…

Love is love is love is love is love….  such simple, yet powerful words spoken by Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Tony Awards in 2016 following the Pulse Night Club shootings in Orlando, FL.

You can watch the speech here, but I’ll warn you…have a box of tissue handy!

This gets me every.single.time because it touches a place deep in my teacher heart about loving ALL children just they way they are, as Mister Rogers taught us.

Love them ALL…no matter what!  There are days when it is so hard to do this in the classroom because of too many demands made on us as teachers. 

Too much stress due to too many demands.

Too many emotions to process and deal with because of too many demands.

Too much testing and judging and shaming and blaming and… you get the picture.

Everything is too much, and yet not enough. It echoes through the halls and permeates the walls of every classroom, that is, if we will allow it to do so!!!

There are preventive measures, however, which are at the heart and spirit of teaching. I will be exploring some of these preventive measures and powerful antidotes in my upcoming blog posts. I actually started with the last post on kindness.  You can check it out here.

What does LOVE look like in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Transformation

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

“Transformation” means “to change form; trans = cross over, to go across”.  

What we learn should transform us. It should empower us to cross over any boundaries or obstacles in order to get to the other side. 

It should give us the “lentes nuevos” (“new lenses”, which is a reference to past blog posts) that we need in order to transform and see more clearly…that which we need to change, that which we do not need to change and to acquire the wisdom in our hearts to know the difference.  The Serenity Prayer, basically.

Like all things in life, we have gone full circle in our SPIRIT journey. We have gone through the SPIRIT process, step-by-step. And through that process, we have crossed over many barriers and overcome many obstacles. 

But, transformation is not the end of our journey. 

We are still not perfect. The world is not perfect. There are just new obstacles or problems. 

And most of us, honestly, are really good at re-cycling or hunkering down in past obstacles and problems. We have not crossed over into any new form of being and doing in the world. 

So, we will find ourselves back where we started our SPIRIT Journey with serenity because we are overwhelmed and overcome in our minds by the problems and obstacles. And we just circle back to journey through the process again…and again…and again because we are human, and we are not perfect and change is a part of life. Everything is dynamic.  

The human learning journey both in and out of the classroom is a spiral…we learn a little, grow a little wiser and get a little better at living our life each time. 

Learning is not a “one-’n-done” deal. 

We never really master anything. 

The concept of seeking mastery or worse yet, perfection, is 

one of life’s biggest deceptions and cruelest ironies. (more…)

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