Teacher Tales #45 – Reaching students, creating stories and setting pathways: Grant, college professor, PD podcaster and one who helps shape our profession

Teacher Tales
Teacher Tales #45 - Reaching students, creating stories and setting pathways: Grant, college professor, PD podcaster and one who helps shape our profession
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In this episode, we will gain another perspective on education and be deeply inspired by yet another fabulous educator, this time from the post-secondary world. Grant is a college professor at Georgia Southern where he not only researches and is an expert on chivalry, but he also is a Medievalist and Renaissance scholar. Additionally, he teaches a methods/pedagogy class and prepares teachers for the profession. But wait…there’s more… he also teaches courses in LSP (Language for Specific Purposes) and produces a podcast for teacher “PD on the go” entitled The World Languages Collaborative podcast. I invite  you to check it out and share with others.  No matter what you teach, you will find ideas and inspiration on Grant’s podcast! He strongly believes that teachers are like fisherman. We cast a net as wide as we can and “hook” our students. Then, through professional development and our lifelong passion for learning, we increase the size of our net and the ability to “hook” more students. Grant also shares so many inspirational insights to the stories that teachers can create for a student through their caring, encouragement and support.  As Grant and I explore the power teachers have to set a student on the best pathway toward their future, our conversation travels the depth and breadth of being lifelong learners. I hope you will  take a listen, be inspired and travel along with us!  

The 3? R’s of a Teacher’s Summer

Ah, another school year coming to a close.

I know you all can’t wait for summer.

Time to rest, recharge, and reset for the next school year only a short three months away.

That’s what I call the 3 R’s of Summer:  REST, RECHARGE and RESET.

REST – let your body rest, relax and rejuvenate through self-care routines. Dial back your “go-go-go” mode and tune in to a “resting” heart rate free from stress and overexertion.

RELAX – chill out and let go of all those coulda, woulda, shoulda’s from your school year brain and mentality. Nothing is “on fire”, “urgent” or “needs immediate attention”.

RESET – do things that will bring on a general reset on your life in order to get back to equanimity, balance and a more leveled path to travel rather than riding the ups and downs of a roller-coaster of a school year.

Actually, I think there are a few other essential “R”s beside these obvious ones. 

What could those be?

(more…)

Teacher Tales #15 – Systems for self-care and setting us all up for success both in and out of the classroom: Lynn – Language teacher, spiritual leader and advocate for the bigger picture lessons of life

Teacher Tales
Teacher Tales #15 - Systems for self-care and setting us all up for success both in and out of the classroom: Lynn - Language teacher, spiritual leader and advocate for the bigger picture lessons of life
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In this episode, Lynn joins us for a deep conversation about the bigger picture lessons of life and how we learn from them, share them and teach them to others, especially our students. After studying and experiencing different ancient wisdom traditions of indigenous cultures around the world, Lynn realized how important and effective they were to her own self-care, sanity and survival as well as to the well-being of the classroom culture. Tapping into basic human nature, Lynn was able to establish best practices and daily routines that removed roadblocks to problems and helped establish a clear and supported path forward. There is a lot of talk these days about teacher self-care and social-emotional learning as if they were something new that have come about as a result of the pandemic. However, as you will learn from Lynn’s story and teaching journey, understanding the roles of human nature and Mother Nature have always been critical and essential to learning, growing and evolving into the best versions of ourselves to show up in this world. We need to gift this ancient wisdom and incorporate these best practices into our daily lives, both in and out of the classroom. We must do this for ourselves and for our students and for the well-being and healing of our profession. Listen to this wisdom, take notes and incorporate these best practices into your life’s lesson plans! Then, observe and celebrate how much your life and the lives of others is transformed!