Linda Markley

Summer Reflection and PD

Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices

As we are entering our summer months here in the northern hemisphere, this long, difficult and unforgettable school year is ending for many teachers and students. Notice I didn’t use the expression “coming to a close”, like in “close out the school year”.  For everyone in education, this school year will not really have closure.  There are still so many unfinished tasks, unfulfilled goals and dashed hopes and dreams. No closing ceremonies, no closing arms in hugs and heartfelt good-byes.  Just closed doors, closed schools, feelings of being closed in.  There is a hole, a gap, a tear that will need to be mended before the next school year begins.  How do we heal our wounds?  How do we mend the tears in our hearts and in those of our students?

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Linda Markley

Teacher Appreciation

calling to make a difference, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero

Appreciate…from the Latin word appretiatus meaning “to set a price”.  Other meanings have evolved over time as “to value highly” or “to rise in value”.  Geesh, have we seen this come true during the recent developments due to COVID-19?!  Although there has always been discussion around paying teachers a salary more commensurate to jobs with similar requirements for education and skills needed, never have we truly considered the true value of a teacher beyond the monetary value attached to them.  Students, parents, administrators…well, basically, just about every human being on the planet, is finally waking up and recognizing the real value of teachers in this world.  Their value is now being measured in the currencies of relationships, connections and heart and how much value they add to society, community and family.  (more…)

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Linda Markley

Our Path(ways)

Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, making connections

Like many teachers today, my heart was crushed by a system of mind-centered, data-driven, tech-stressful, competition-focused path of never enough-ness.  We have lost ourselves and the real school spirit in all of this.  Our hearts are broken.  My heart was broken, and as a result, I got very sick and had to leave my beloved profession.  I literally couldn’t stand being in my job any more and my legs would give out on me at any moment.  The doctor tested me for MS and ALS and finally said, “if you don’t get out of that job, you will be in a wheelchair in five years!”   It took three years of physical and mental therapies to get back on my feet, but my heart was still broken.  I was lost, and I felt like my inner compass was broken.  So, I decided to set out on a journey to find my way back home to the heart of my true self. 

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Linda Markley

Vulnerability in teaching

Spirit of teaching, Strategies, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

Teachers are vulnerable under normal circumstances.  Every day, we present ourselves through our lessons and are open and vulnerable to judgment from all of our students, parents, colleagues and administrators.  I can think of no other profession where this is true, especially on a daily basis.  Teachers have to always be “on” and moving.  No privacy or protection from emotional exposure by working at a desk, in an office/ cubicle, behind closed doors or facing just the screen of a computer.  If we are grappling with personal issues, health issues, family issues, financial issues…any issues, we throw them in our backpack and carry them to school with us.  But then, when do we deal with them during our action-packed, always on, “keep moving so you don’t get behind and everyone will know it” day? 
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Linda Markley

Hope from the heart

Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Wholehearted teaching

If we tap into our heart, we will ALWAYS find the answer.  It doesn’t matter if we are struggling or if our students are struggling, if we pause and check in with our heart, we will find the direction and the pathway that will lead us to resolution and peace.  Right now, we are all living from a place of fear.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of not being enough for our students or them not being enough to meet our expectations.  Fear of failure.  Fear of not being able to provide what our students needed before this crisis, during this crisis or for the rest of the school year.  FEAR = Feeling Every Added Regret.  Regrets of the monkey mind.  Fictional tales of regret we allow ourselves to make up in our minds like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future from a Charles Dickens novel. 

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Linda Markley

Calling of the spirit

calling to make a difference, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

The spirit of teaching…what does that mean?  It is not a religious reference nor will one find it listed in a glossary of teaching terms.  It is not something that can be defined by tests, data, numbers, letters, scores, scales, standards or any of the other common measurement tools and terms used to define education today.  It is not an ephemeral phrase like many of the buzz words that pass through the pedagogical winds of time.  It is something that beckons the heart of humanity and whispers in the ears of a chosen few to answer the calling…the calling to serve, guide, inspire and facilitate children learning more about who they truly are and what unique gifts they have to share with the world.  We are here to make a difference and create a better world for the future through children.  The spirit of teaching starts in the heart and ends in the heart. (more…)

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