Category: General Inspiration

Posted in Challenge, General Inspiration, Quotes to Inspire

The Power of Real Encouragement

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

20130711-132356.jpg

Dear Teacher,

While at training this week I have a lot of time to think about hope and encouragement (which are some of the things that can impact brain growth and change). Believe it or not, I have only recently come to realize my gift/talent for encouragement and hope-giving. I never thought that it was my “thing” to help people pick themselves up and strive for great things. It has been there in me for a long time, but I just never saw it,

I thought about this earlier this week because of something that was said to me. One of the activities at the Teaching with Poverty in Mind workshop was to have perfect practice at encouraging the right things in students (strategies, effort, and attitude) that bring about long term brain and thinking change that leads to success and achievement. As I was going around and finding people to talk to, I encouraged a teacher’s attitude and tied it to success. This was only practice, and we were only pretending the other teachers were students, but he told me something after it was done. He said, “Wow, I actually feel encouraged and fired up to strive harder because of what you told me. Thank you!”

I have gotten that a lot from people lately (students, teachers, and others), even before I started this blog. It is one of the other reasons that I started this whole thing. It has become clear to me that I have a gift for it. A gift is worthless if you do not use it for the good of others, and who needs encouragement and hope more than my fellow teachers and educators? 🙂

The reason that I did not see this gift in myself before is because I did not view how I talked to people as encouragement. I thought encouragement was “feel good” language with the intent of cheering people up. I am not good at that. All that I do is tell people what I notice about them or what they have done and point out the benefits of it and/or how it helps others (or themselves). That’s it. I saw my skill as being telling the truth of what I saw to others. I just do that. I can’t help it. It is just in the core fiber of my being to do that.

For some reason, positive truth is powerful. It can change the way people think. It changes how you fell about yourself and situations. It gives you new perspective. It helps you to remember that nothing last forever, you can and will get through it, and that you have resources that you forgot or did not see in yourself.

It is true that “cheer up” sentiments do help in the short term. That is “good encouragement.” However, that kind of encouragement is not what changes you and changes the world around you. Good encouragement is quite temporary.

As I thought about this over the last few days, I came up with one idea to boil this all down and show how how and why real encouragement has true and sustaining power (if you get my Tweets, you got a sneak preview of this last night):

Good encouragement helps you to feel better; great encouragement cuts you open and repairs your heart, soul, and mind with positive truth.”

What kind of encouragement are you giving out and spreading around you home, school, and community? Is it the kind of encouragement that lasts, or is it the short term, temporary,cheer-up brand? How can you give more of the hopeful, life-changing variety? Are you willing to start trying to change this today?

Challenge: Give two people the cutting, life-changing type of encouragement today and then come back and tell us the reaction it had/caused.

You are awesome! I know that you probably already give out the great type of encouragement! It never hurts to hone and tweak those kind of skills and abilities. You are so amazing! I want you to keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Posted in Challenge, General Inspiration, Pep Talk, Teacher Testimony

Teacher Rockstar: Jaime Escalante

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Jaime Escalante – Teacher Rockstar

Dear Teacher,

Today I want to build on my posts from a couple of weeks ago (It’s Not Me, It’s You; The Power of Real Encouragement; and Apple Influence) and talk a little more about change and the drive to change ourselves in order to spark change in others (namely, our students).  To do this, I want to focus in on someone I would definitely call a Teacher Rockstar: Jaime Escalante.

If you are not familiar with Mr. Escalante, he is the teacher portrayed in the movie Stand and Deliver (if you haven’t seen the movie, you need to…great inspiration for teachers!).  He taught at a high poverty high school in a Latino community in Los Angeles in the late 70’s through the early 90’s.  At a failing school that focused on remedial and low level math, he pushed students to take AP Calculus.  The students, starting in small groups and growing in the large groups (in the hundreds), succeeded in his class and passed the AP exam.  There is much more to the story, but you can go to Wikipedia for that.  🙂

What makes Mr. Escalante a Rockstar Teacher is not his accomplishments.  The results of his teaching strategies and methods were amazing, but they are not what makes him one of the great teachers of all time.  What makes him special is his drive.  It was his willingness to stand up and do more, to be more, to expect more.  One of my favorite scenes in Stand and Deliver illustrates this drive perfectly.  It shows in what he is willing to say (and backup with action) at a department meeting.

In a school of under-resourced, overworked, beat-up, worn-out, and burned up teachers with students that have a history of being under-performing students with the threat of losing district accreditation looming on the horizon, he stepped up and said, “I can teach more.”  He volunteered to do more.  To take on more students.  To be more.  I love what he said, “The students will rise to the level of expectations.”  He looked resolutely at administration and expected more of himself and of the students.

His response to the question of what he needs in order to do more really shows his drive and why he had unbelievable success with students.  “Ganas.  All we need is ganas.”  Ganas was the key for Mr. Escalante.  Ganas made the difference.

According to Urban Dictionary, “ganas” is a slang word for desire or urge that is most likely based on the Spanish word “ganar,” which means to gain or win.  Ganas is desire.  For Escalante, it was a little more than that though.  It was desire backed by the willingness to go after what you desired, no matter how hard you have to work to get to it.

He talks about it again in another quote from the movie, and this time he is speaking to his students:

You’re going to work harder here than you’ve ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you is ganas. Desire… If you don’t have the ganas, I will give it to you, because I’m an expert.

He desired for his students to learn, achieve, and truly be successful.  He expected his students to have that same drive for themselves.  He did what he could to inspire that in his students.  He worked hard at it.  Year after year he took a look at his students and himself, and then pushed harder the next year to improve.  He took a lot of flak.  He arguably made a lot of risky choices and decisions, but it was his “ganas” that gave him the ability to focus on his students and their future success.  That is what was in his blood.  He passed this on to his students.  So many of them went on to lead successful lives because of what he instilled in them.

I wrote a good bit and shared a lot from the movie about Jaime Escalante.  Let me let him speak for himself.  This was an interview he did while he was still teaching.  It is so inspiring to me!  I hope you feel the same way!

Now that you have learned more about this teaching rockstar, what can you learn from his example?  Can you be one of the teachers in your school, in the midst of all of the finger pointing on what is wrong in education, to stand up and say, “I can do more,” and back that up with action?  Is your teaching and relationships with students marked by “ganas” about their achievement and success?  What can you do to be different and make an even bigger difference than you already do?

You are awesome!  I know that you probably already think a lot like Mr. Escalante.  Your students and their learning and success is of utmost importance to you.  You do so much already and make a big difference!  But can you do more?  I know that I can!

You are amazing, and never forget it!  Find the more that you can do, and do it!  I know that you can!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Posted in General Inspiration, Secret Occupations of Teachers, Weekend Note

S.O.o.T. Sunday: Flooring Specialist

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Great Sunday morning to you!  I hope you are having a wonderful and amazing weekend!  Today’s post is the second installment of my new weekend post series called S.O.o.T. (the Secret Occupations of Teachers) where I focus on what we do as teachers, even the stuff that a lot of people don’t realize we do, and compare it to other professions.  Each week I will acknowledge those “secret” jobs of our, give encouragement for you in those roles, and the give a little challenge to you about those hidden parts of your work.  Last week, the first S.O.o.T., I talked about how teachers compare to landscapers/gardeners.  If you did not get a chance to read it, you should check it out.  The image stuck with me, personally, and I thought about teaching and the things I needed to do in that light throughout the week.  Enough of the back story, let’s get to the S.O.o.T. for today!  🙂

This past week, I got a little (minuscule, really) experience of what another profession would be like.  If you read my post on Friday, you know that I spent the week working on installing a hardwood floor at my house and practicing the art of perseverance.  We worked with a friend, also a teacher, who has a good bit of experience working with professional flooring installers, and we went and consulted with the professional guys to get some pointers, help, and borrow some much needed tools.  Those were amazing guys that really know their stuff!  We finally finished the floor, which looked pretty good, and I have had a day or so to reflect on the experience.  For this reason, today’s S.O.o.T. is flooring specialist.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

This is going to be a bit long in the beginning, but please read on to how it compares to teaching.  I think it will be worth it! 

As I said, flooring specialists are amazing people.  Flooring specialists install floors (hardwoods, laminate, carpet, tile, etc…), repair said floors, and beautify the floors.  I never realized before how many “moving parts” their are in installing floors!  There are so many things you need to think about, know, and keep track of throughout the job.  There is a ton of planning.  There is a ton of prep work.  There is a ton of grunt work (the actual install).  And there is a ton of finishing work.  When you are done, you have a completed and beautiful product, but there is SO MUCH that goes into it before you get there.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

Flooring specialists have to take a look and plan out the floor before they can even start thinking about how to get the job done.  It usually includes their client explaining what they would like…which is not always easy to make happen.  One part of this phase of the job is explaining the reality of the “vision” to the client and what is possible/impossible, what would go into making it happen, and estimating cost.  This lets the client know if they can afford to make their dream a reality.  Once this is done, a preliminary plan can be thought out.

The next phase (and part of the planning phase) is getting rid of the old floor and looking at the sub-floor and seeing what needs to be done to it before installing a new floor can happen.  Sometimes it means the need for ripping out old sub-floor to put more permanent and reliable sub-floors in, and it almost always need to be leveled with leveling compound so that the new floors will lay flat.  Investigating and improving the sub-floor is a vital step in ensuring the longevity of a new floor.

Once the planning and sub-floor prep work is completed, then the actual installation can happen.  There is measuring, cutting, gluing, stapling, nailing, tapping, moving, hammering, and a number of other things that I am leaving out.  There is even some “undoing” if you make a mistake…which is time consuming and stressful because you do not want to damage the floor that does not need to be fixed.  The tools you use to do all of this are special and specific to the job, as well as some power tools for cutting that most people do not have just sitting around.  It is all pain-staking and precise work…and the less experience you have the harder it is!

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may us the picture if you link back to this blog.)

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may us the picture if you link back to this blog.)

At the end, you need to clean.  You need to fill in areas that may need more precise cuts.  You need to putty holes left by nails or staples.  You need to carefully replace molding and shoe molding.  And then you need to clean again.  When it is all said and done, it is a beautiful job done…but it was a lot of work to get to “done.”

Acknowlegement

Teacher, you are a flooring specialist.  You are given a vision of what the end product needs to look like with your students.  You are told what they need to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the year.  You try to be realistic with the “clients” giving you this vision for your students and show them what is possible/impossible, what it will take to get to the vision, and estimate the costs of the vision (in money, time, and energy), but in the end you are given the expectation for what the “floor” needs to look like.

You make a preliminary plan of what it will take to get the job done, and then you get to looking at the sub-floor.  You meet your students.  You get to know them.  You learn what they know/don’t know.  You figure out their strengths and weaknesses.  You find out what they have and what they need.  You try to find a place that you can teach from that will address the needs of all students.  Some students need new ways of thinking and studying…you need to work to replace their “sub-floors” with something more permanent.  Other just need to be “leveled out” a bit to be able to keep up with the content, work, and other students.  You work hard to get this all done as quick as you can in the beginning so that you can get to the hard work of “laying the floors” of knowledge, understanding, and accomplishment.

Once the prep work is complete, you get to the installation.  You measure student data as you go.  You use specialized teaching tools appropriate for each situation and student.  You find ways to make the new content, understanding, and application “stick” and “adhere” to students minds and thinking.  You move things around (content and students).  You make sure everything fits.  You have a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, but you do it like a champ!  Sometimes you have to “undo” some mistakes make, and you do so carefully so you do not damage what has already been done that is working well.  You work hard with expertise and professionalism.  

In the end you do the finishing work of filling in gaps.  You even out places that are a little off.  You “putty” in small pieces of understanding that may have been missed here or there.  You then replace the molding and finish out what you can to send a beautiful product up to the next grade.  You send on an amazing product, but it took a lot of work to get it done!

Encouragement

  • Teacher, you are amazing at what you do!  The job so often seems hard or impossible…the vision given seems unreachable, but you work hard at it anyway!  You get as close to the vision as you possible can, and sometimes you even go past that vision.  You are awesome!
  • There are so many pieces to what you do, and you have to be great at all of them…and you are!  You have to plan with realism. You have to get to know your students.  You have to measure, cut, apply, and adjust constantly.  You have so much to keep up with…but somehow you do it!  You are amazing!
  • You do a great job when everything is said and done at the end of the year!  Do not be ashamed to look back and see how great the floors are compared to how they were before you got to them!  Take a look back at students that you have brought a long way and be proud!  Don’t be afraid to do this.  You need to do this.  Remembering our success is the only way to be even more successful in the future!

Challenge

  • Teachers on summer break, set a vision for next year.  Work at that this summer.  Yes, you don’t know what your “sub-floors” are like yet, but you can plan a vision.  You know the expectations for you, so work from their.  Don’t be afraid to plan big.  I know I am this summer.  Your big plans may not pan out, but don’t be afraid to dream.  Come up with the most creative way to meet and surpass the vision that has been set for you by others.  You can do it!  Come up with at least three real things that you can do different this year to get to the impossible goals set for you.  You can do it!  You are amazing!
  • Teachers teaching right now, stop and think about one real way that you can change what you are doing to better address the needs of your students.  Take stock of your “sub-floor” with each student and find one way to help “level” or “improve” the knowledge, understanding, and/or abilities of each student.  It is hard work , but worthwhile in the end.  One thing for each student.  You can do that!  Just do it!

Teacher, you are an amazing floor specialist!  You work so hard to meet the goals set for you.  In the end, you have brought each student so far and have installed beautiful floors.  Don’t forget that.  Never forget that.  You are awesome!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Posted in General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Perseverance

Pressing On

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)

Dear Teacher,

Sorry for the shortened and less regularly timed messages this week.  We have been working on a big project at my house.  We are putting in our own hardwood floors with a little help from some friends.  This is where most of my time has gone this week.  🙂

I have learned something from this home project, and it reminds me of teaching.  I have learned/remembered that jobs are not always easy.  It takes work.  You get tired.  You get stressed.  You have obstacles.  You get frustrated.  You want to stop.  You have to keep going (or not have a kitchen for longer than that is a good idea).  You push through.  It seems impossible…until you push through that wall and it slowly starts to seem possible…and after a while it almost seems easy…until you are glad that you started the process in the first place.

The kitchen looks good now, but it didn’t for a while.  This has been a long week, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel this morning.  I feel good, and I could almost see myself taking on a project like this.  It is amazing how this transformation happens…from impossible to possible to easy…and sometimes in a very short time.

Think about your toughest year at school, your toughest classes, your toughest students.  It was hard.  It was stressful.  It seemed impossible.  You wanted to quit.  But you didn’t.  You pressed on.  You kept going.  You made it through.  In the end, you probably found that you learned something, you found out more about yourself, and you became a better teacher.  It did not feel good going through it, but you felt better in the end once you survived.  In the end you were stronger for having gone through the year that you did.

Remember this as you look forward to another year (or right now if you are not on summer break).  Nothing lasts for ever, and you CAN persevere.  You have made it through before, and you can do it again.  What ever you are going through will be worthwhile in the end!  You can do it, and it WILL make you a better teacher.  Keep going and never give up!

You are an awesome and amazing teacher.  You don’t give up and you make something beautiful in the end.  You are making such a difference because you do press on through everything!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…Today is the last day for the giveaway at the Facebook page.  You need to comment with your story by the midnight tonight (July 5th, 2013).  Go check it out and share if you haven’t!

Posted in General Inspiration, Note to Teachers, Reason for Teaching

Celebrating Independence

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Today’s post will probably mean most to my American readers, but even if you are from another country, read on…it may still speak to you!

Today is July 4th.  Happy 4th, everyone!  Today most of us will go to a cookout and/or watch some fireworks while we spend time with friends and family, as well as a number of other traditions people may have.  It is a day to celebrate and to remember when our country was officially founded.

July 4th is the day that we mark the Second Continental Congress’ passing and signing of a resolution of independence from England called the Declaration of Independence (though there is a lot of debate about when it was actually signed by most of the people who signed it).  This document was the founding document of the United States as an independent country with its own government and no longer under the reigns of England.  Today is the day that we celebrate that independence.

This morning, I read up a bit on the traditions, celebrations, and meaning of the 4th of July holiday (Wikipedia had some pretty fascinating tidbits on it).  I found out some interesting pieces of information about it.  It was almost an instant holiday.  The year after the Declaration was passed, there was a celebration on the 4th in Philadelphia (the capitol at the time and where the Continental Congress met), and the party even included fireworks!  The tradition of celebrating on that day continued year after year and spread throughout the country.  To me, this seems pretty amazing that the holiday basically began the year after the event!  But it was a pretty amazing event, and it should be remembered, honored, and celebrated!

Now, how am I going to bring this back to teaching?  I don’t know that I need to, but I think I will anyway.  🙂

Think about your students.  I know that we all teach students of different backgrounds and each year our students are different.  Most of us are on summer break, as well.  For this reason, just think about your students in general.  Some come from excellent homes and environments…other don’t.  Some have amazing and obvious gifts and talents that will take them far…but not all of them.  Some know how to learn, think, and explore knowledge independently…but not every single one of your students.  Some know how to be independent learners…a lot may not.  Some students know what it means to be free and what freedom means…other have no idea.

We are teachers.  We are like the armies, soldiers, and volunteers that fought for the freedom for our countries founders to be able to declare independence from England.  We have to fight for our students to know thinking independence.  Without the freedom to think on their own, they will never know true freedom as an adult…and I believe that most of our job is to get students ready for the future, no matter what we may teach.  We need to know each student and what their individual learning styles and need are, and then teach them how to know how to do this on their own.  They will not always have us fighting for them…we need to teach them to fight on these battles on their own!

I know this post may be a stretch, but a part of celebrating independence is understanding what independence is.  We as adults have a pretty good understanding of what freedom is.  Not just freedom in the sense of the freedoms we have in our country, but freedom of mind…to stand and think on our own.  We need to remember that our job is to help our students to be able to do the same one day.  We are fighting for their freedom to be who they will be one day, on their own.  Don’t give up the fight for your students’ independence!

(c)DearTeacherLT (You may use the image if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT (You may use the image if you link back to this blog.)

You are an awesome teacher!  You are a great freedom fighter!  Don’t give up and don’t ever stop!  You are changing the future one student at a time!  This makes you amazing!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!  Happy Forth of July!

Love, Teacher

PS…The picture is from when I went on a cruise and got to sail past the Statue of Liberty.  It was hard not to think about what it must have been like for the millions of people that sailed to Ellis Island from around the world in hopes of finding the freedom promised in America.  Are you that beacon of hope of future independence for students?  I want to be.

Posted in General Inspiration, Picture Note, You Are Awesome!!!

Yeeeaaah Buoy!

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to this blog.)

Dear Teacher,

Be that buoy today!  Mark out where danger is.  Lead people to the shore.  Be a beacon of hope in troubled waters.  You are AWESOME!!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Posted in General Inspiration, Teacher Testimony, Teaching Power

I Triple Dog Dare You…

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

My post this morning did not really count as a post, since it was just an announcement, so I went looking for something to inspire and motivate your teaching senses this Saturday morning.  Boy, did I find something!  I still have a tear or two as I type this.  I triple dog dare you to watch this without tears and a having a renewed heart for your students and what you do!

Teacher, what you say and what you do has deep and lasting impressions!  You are changing the future every day!  You are so awesome!  Have an amazing Saturday!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter), Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page, and the Dear Teacher TpT Store.

Posted in General Inspiration, Guest Post, Hope for Teachers

A Teacher “Prayer”

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Anonymity is popular among my Substitute Teachers.  Today’s post is from another veteran teacher, to whom I tip my hat.  You teachers who have kept at this for decades, I salute you!  I hope to be one of those “decades” teachers one day!

This message is short, sweet, and perfect for a Monday.  Please enjoy and apply!  Have a great week!

Dear Teacher,

I came across this “prayer” many years ago.  I’m not sure who the author is.

Enable me to teach with

WISDOM

for I help to shape the mind.

Equip me to teach with

TRUTH

for I help to shape the conscience.

Encourage me to teach with

VISION

for I help to shape the future.

Empower me to teach with

LOVE

for I help to shape the world.

Whatever your beliefs, Teacher, I think it’s a great reminder to us.  May we all teach with wisdom, truth, vision, and love.  The stakes are high! And not just for testing and standards. Our words and actions help to shape our students’ minds and consciences.  We help to shape the future and the world!  What an awesome job that is, Teacher!  It’s awesome in the many meanings of the word “awesome”!  It inspires awe to think of our responsibilities and potential.  But it’s also awesome and great thatwe (yes, us, Teacher!) have been given this opportunity.  How amazing is that?

Have a great day, Teacher!
Love,

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Posted in General Inspiration, Guest Post, Pep Talk

Just Keep Moving (in the right direction)

Posted on by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

When I asked people to volunteer to be Substitute Teachers while I am “off the grid,” I had a lot of great responses!  I am so grateful and honored by that!  Teachers were more than willing to pay forward the encouragement and hope that they have received from people and from this blog.  However, something interesting came from the request to for people to share, and it was a response to something that I have done with this blog that I did not think people noticed or cared about, but they did and do (you might, too).

I have made strides to try to keep this as anonymous as possible.  Why?  I want the message here to be separated from it being just a person trying to encourage other people.  I want it to be about teachers encouraging teachers.  We are in this together, and it is not about a person or personality.  This is one of the reasons I am using Substitute Teachers instead of just setting up a bunch of my own posts to go up while I am away.  This is teachers encouraging each other.  Teachers looking out and caring for their own!

I say all of this because some of the Substitutes have requested to stay anonymous, like me.  Their reasons are the same as mine.  I appreciate that, so I am honoring the request.  I will only share what I think is important about each…and today’s Sub has one thing I would like you to know about her.  She has been teaching for 26 years!  I am honored to have such a veteran post here!  We can learn so much from those teachers who have been doing this for a long time!  I love learning from people who have been doing this for a long time.  Read this morning and learn with me.  🙂

Dear Teacher,

I subscribe to Gretchen Rubin’s* Happiness Project blog and her “Moment of Happiness” daily e-mails.  Recently, this Oliver Wendell Holmes quote was the thought of the day:

“The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.”


This quote reminded me of some experiences I’ve had in teaching.  Often at the end of the year I can be discouraged or disappointed by all of the things that didn’t go as well as I’d have liked, or all the ways that I wasn’t as great a teacher as I’d have liked to have been for my students.  We teachers want so much to do awesome things for all of our students, but that task can sometimes be impossible to fully achieve.

Then I remind myself that no one is perfect, and that the important thing is wanting to be awesome and being committed to always getting better, becoming a stronger and more effective teacher. After my first, most difficult year as a teacher, I promised myself that I would always work to get better each year, and that as long as I kept that commitment, I would just have to be accept the fact that I hadn’t been the perfect teacher. As Holmes reminds us, it’s the direction we’re moving that is most important.

One of the best things about teaching is that every year there is a fresh start and a new chance to be even better and more awesome for a new group of students.  Summer is a great time for thinking about ways to hone our skills. What great ideas would you like to put in place with your next group of students?

You are awesome, Teacher.  You are committed to improving your professional practice, and that’s awesome!  High five!

Love, Substitute Teacher

** Gretchen Rubin is the author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home.

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.