Category: teachers as role models

Linda Markley

Champions

calling to make a difference, Passion, professional development, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher value, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

It is that designated time of year again when we are to celebrate teachers with “Teacher Appreciation Week”.

So, I thought I would remind everyone what exactly a teacher is and why they deserve to be celebrated.

When we think of the word “champion”, we usually think of it in terms of athletes and sporting events (which, by the way, too many children idolize and want to be winning athletes who become famous and make ridiculous amounts of money! That’s another topic for another day for sure!)

When I think of champions, I am reminded of teachers and the powerful Ted Talk that Rita Pierson gave entitled “Every Child Needs a Champion”.

You can watch it here.  

Teachers ARE champions and should be celebrated and appreciated and compensated as such!

As a noun, the word “champion” is from Latin campus meaning field (of combat), which came to mean someone who is a “combatant in a field”.

As a verb, champion means “to fight for, defend, protect, maintain or support by contest or challenge”.

Many teachers feel like the classroom is a “field of combat” anymore because of all the accusations, allegations, instigations that are happening to them via parents, students and even admin and colleagues sometimes.

Teaching is hard…no doubt about it!

But I would like to share a different perspective that might inspire and give hope to teachers (and no, it is not toxic positivity, so don’t even go there!)

I thought of how a field is also where we can wander, explore and even grow food or flowers for sustenance or enjoyment.

What kind of field of “dreams” are we creating everyday in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Relationships

calling to make a difference, communication, creating community, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Resources, Strategies, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher hero, teacher mental health, teacher resources, teacher support, teacher value, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

I was recently watching some episodes of the 2006-2011 TV series Friday Night Lights.

If you are not familiar with it, you can check out more about it here.

The main characters are Eric, a high school football coach, and his wife, Tammy who is a high school guidance counselor.

There are, of course, many themes that play throughout the show related to football, high school, education and life in general.

The thing I love the most is the theme of relationships and how building relationships and nurturing them is a key element to success both in and out of school.

Both Eric and Tammy understand that making connections and investing in the relationships with students are the most essential ingredients to creating a positive and thriving school environment and culture.

It is not about test scores, blue ribbons, trophies on the shelf or rankings on a list.

It is about being role models, showing up for kids, believing in them and walking beside them as they make their way on the path of life.

This is what we do as educators every single day in the classroom.

And with every single teacher I have ever spoken to, the greatest reward and the fondest memories and what keeps them going as an educator come from the relationships they have created and nurtured with their students.

It is understandably tough to reach out, be vulnerable and make connections with students.

It is sometimes a painful, energy and time sucking process, but the payoff is priceless, timeless and energizing.

What are some things we can do to create a classroom culture of 

nurturing relationships with our students and also, among our students?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Mind Your Vowels and Consonants

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Introspection, making connections, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

In the last blog post, I talked about teacher behavior in the classroom.

To follow up, I would like to offer up some guidance on how to perhaps become more aware of our behaviors and in turn, make more powerful choices for better, more desired outcomes.

You have probably heard the idiom “mind your p’s and q’s”, right?

So, where did it come from?

In jolly old England, many people, especially working men, would escape to the pub after work to de-stress and forget about their problems.

Many wives would tell them: “Now, if you go to the pub after work, mind your p’s and q’s” (probably because they were not in agreement with their husbands going to the pub).

They didn’t want their husbands drinking in excess until drunk and out of control. 

In England, beer is served in pints or quarts, thus the p’s and the q’s.

The wives were advising (warning?) their husbands to pay attention and be aware of their choice of size and quantity of beer they were consuming.

Well, I thought to myself, what could I come up with the help teachers/people remember the choices they have and to “mind them” (aka pay attention and be aware of our options and choices)?

Mind your vowels and consonants.

Vowels = A E I O U 

So, now we would have:  AFFIRM, ENGAGE, INVITE, OPTIMIZE, UNITE for the steps in our relationship building process with others to produce more harmonious and agreeable results?

AFFIRM the other person’s existence, beliefs, similarities, differences…who they are, but also to learn more about who we are

ENGAGE them in conversation and activities that give them, and you, permission to be curious, explore and learn more toward greater acceptance

INVITE them to join you and Venn Diagram what you have discovered and shared with each other so that you can harmonize your interpersonal interactions

OPTIMIZE the strengths in each other to be able to support, inspire and celebrate each other and see your place in the bigger picture of things (humanity)

UNITE and collaborate and grow together for the greater good of everyone whose lives you touch in order to bring hope to others  

Vowels are the connectors to consonants. The word “consonant” is from Latin, meaning “one sound”. 

Vowels allow us to make utterances, create words and communicate to others our needs, desires, hopes, dreams, affirmations, inspirations, and so on.  

So, if we apply our vowels in all our relationships, we can create one sound together…harmonize…and bring sweet music to the world.

Just think of the power teachers have to bring sweet music into the hearts of children when they create their classroom culture on the relationship “vowels” (like the A E I O U above) and also create connections to a community of “one sound” that will harmonize greater understandings of peace, love, joy, grace, compassion, respect, validation and belonging into this world.

AFFIRM

ENGAGE

INVITE

OPTIMIZE

UNITE 

A E I O U

You can do it too!

 

Image credit:

“Alphabet 20” by Leo Reynolds is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

 

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Linda Markley

Teacher Behavior

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher behavior, teacher choices, teacher mental health, teacher self-care, teacher struggles, teacher support, teacher vulnerability, teacher well-being, teachers as role models, Wholehearted teaching

I have always been a big cheerleader and supporter of teachers.

That is why I founded The Spirit of Teaching and my podcast, Teacher Tales.

However, in the past year or so, I have been losing faith and hope as I witness more and more inappropriate behaviors on the part of some teachers…

…in fact, too many teachers!

Let me explain and give some examples. (more…)

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