I just wrapped up my first week of my 18th year of teaching. It is kind of crazy because I keep waiting for my “burn out”, but here I am. I can admit that I am in a state of dread for the days leading up to that first day, but it never fails...Once the … Continue reading First Day of School
Tag: Education
Lessons from People with Abilities
I have been working with and for people with disabilities for decades. I have concluded that almost everything of value that I have learned in my life is credited to individuals with disabilities. I can say without hesitation, I would be an incomplete person had I not chosen to devote my life to special education. … Continue reading Lessons from People with Abilities
The F Word
A colleague of mine was wiping out an old work computer and found a video clip from years ago. In the video, students were participating in interviews unaware that their favorite teachers were dancing in the background like fools. As I watched this clip I was filled with a warm, familiar feeling that resonated … Continue reading The F Word
Remote Learning: A Glimpse at Student Dependency
Education was thrust into a form of learning that has never been done before as students took to their computers to access their virtual classrooms. As a special educator for nearly two decades my first thought was, “Oh no! How will our students thrive without a lack of support?” Support looks different for each of … Continue reading Remote Learning: A Glimpse at Student Dependency
Tomorrow’s Lesson Plan: Teaching Students How to Master Fear
The reality that existed on the last day we saw our students in March has quickly become a far different reality than what we will be presented with in the fall. Homes across the world are being infiltrated with uncertainty. Job loss, anxiety over the health of loved ones, and the management of social … Continue reading Tomorrow’s Lesson Plan: Teaching Students How to Master Fear
Parent Overload
Caution: You will not receive any apps, websites, virtual tours, or downloadable worksheets in the contents of this message. Enough is enough already. Parents have been inundated with websites, apps, worksheets, pictures of perfect schedules, and a variety of Pinterest mommy-perfect resources. They have been given a boatload of options, yet are told to keep … Continue reading Parent Overload
This is not what I signed up for…
Distraction: The Detriment to our Tomorrow Twenty years ago when I entered college as an aspiring educator, I had a host of things I knew to be true about the profession of teaching. I expected to work hard, which would require a grueling work ethic that summer would not absolve. I knew I would have … Continue reading This is not what I signed up for…
Fear
Heart pounding. Hands sweating. Mind racing. For many of us, this is what we conjure up when we think of fear. A freight train of emotion that warrants an immediate and obvious response. However, the toxic residue that lies behind fear is not always the crushing presence of adrenaline. In fact, most often it is … Continue reading Fear
Teacher Traps
I, no doubt, stupidly thought that teaching adorable children with special needs would be so gratifying that it would be easy! I will save you all the suspense, but after teaching students with disabilities for over 15 years, I quickly ended up catching a clue. Teaching was anything, but easy and the person making it … Continue reading Teacher Traps
The Beauty of Enough
You are a miracle. In fact, the odds you were born at all are 1 in 400 Quadrillion to 10 to the 2,640,000th power. There is no one on the face of this Earth that is you. Yes, even if you have an identical twin sibling, you are still different walking phenomenons. So it is … Continue reading The Beauty of Enough
