Theme Song – Page 2 – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Pep Talk, Theme Song

Freedom [when you let it go]

Posted on October 21, 2013October 21, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Great Monday morning to you! I know, there are very few times in the thick of the school year that we view Mondays as necessarily great…we are often being pulled from every angle and feeling like we are ten seconds from being ripped into pieces. Monday only makes it worse because we look forward to the pulling starting over fresh and new. It doesn’t have to be this way!

How do we keep ourselves together when everything wants us to fall apart, especially on a Monday? That is what today and this week’s theme song is all about. The best part is that I get to share one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists with you, and you probably have never heard of him or the song. Get ready to be a fan.

Click play and read on (just in case you are new and didn’t know 🙂 ). When you are done, you might want to go back and watch the video. It is pretty cool.

Teacher, you have so much on your plate. You have things that need to get done. You have expectations to meet. You have classroom management issues to deal with. You have parents to call. You have plans to plan and implement. You have profession development to go to and show evidence of using and applying. You have test to write, give, get data from, reflect on, and plan to use to differentiate and raise student achievement. You have books to read, papers to grade, and Common Core to implement.

You have people constantly looking over your shoulder telling you what to do and who to be as a teacher. You have parents who don’t think you are handling their child correctly. You have administration analyzing your every word and move in the classroom. You have curriculum specialists giving commentary on every strategy and technique you use and giving you tips and pointers on how do do things differently. You have ever changing district, state, and federal mandates and standards that are to be followed to the “t” with little variation.

You have a life outside of school. You have pressures from other places. You have family. You have friends. You have a life…at least you try to have one.

You have students. Students who need you to be more than just a implementer of plans. They need you, the person. They need your heart, soul, and mind to help them navigate through the storms of life and education. They need a mentor. They need a teacher. They need you.

Students are why you do what you do. Students are the key to education. Students are the ends and the means. Without them there are no standards, tests, data, professional development, or lesson plans.

Students are the heart of it all. Students are your heart. Students are why you are where you are. Students make you a teacher.

You are pulled and yanked in a thousand directions every day. You feel that weight the most on Sunday nights and Monday mornings. The waves of the life of a teacher are constantly trying to pull you under. The current is strongest at the beginning of the week.

What do you do? How do you combat this? How do you go against the flow that wants to drag you down? How can you make a Monday feel great and something you look forward to seeing?

One word: STUDENTS,

We have to learn to to be brave enough to run into the flames of the fight to let every decision we make be completely centered on our students. We have to train ourselves to let things go for the sake of our students. They need to be the answer to every question that starts with “Why did you…” Students, their hearts, and their minds need to be key. Few people know them like you do, and you need to stand up and say what you think will work best for them.

It is hard, though. It is hard to let go of some of the anxiety and fear of not meeting the expectations of others. Not meeting deadlines. Having to answer those hard “why” questions. I can’t tell you how to do this for you. I can tell you, though, that it is worth it.

I have been teaching long enough to know that expectations, standards, and mandates change. The current of education moves with the latest and greatest ideas and research, but often it is a circular pattern that always comes back to best practices that have been around for a long time. Tap into that and you will see that it always comes back to some of the same themes. Follow those themes and you can keep up with the changes (I will try to write about some of those themes later).

I am not saying to rebel or not follow guidelines and mandates. I am definitely not saying that. I am just saying that you will start to remember why you love being a teacher when the students return to being your focus for all that you do. And if you get off from the expectations set for you, make sure that your answer has something to do with the specific needs of your students. That is what is key and paramount.

Let go of the fear. Let go of the anxiety. Let the students be the reason for all that you do. Make them the goal. Open up your heart and mind to letting them come first. You will start to feel the freedom that comes from that. You will see that everything comes back around.

You may have to answer questions or be “fussed” at from time to time. Don’t let that worry you. One day, when a student comes back and tells you the influence you had on them and how that changed their life, what are you going to remember? Are you going to remember the lecture you were given or are you going to remember why you became a teacher? I think I know the answer.

Let things go and let yourself make choices in your classroom and with your time that come out of love and care for your students. I promise, when you let it go it will come right back to you. You will make it through and be a better teacher for it!

Don’t be afraid to let go!

You are awesome! You are making such a difference in the lives of your students. Keep going. Don’t act out of fear but act out of love and concern for your students. You will never regret it! You are amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…In case you missed the announcement yesterday, I am very excited to announce the Motivational ABCs Poster/Word Wall now available in the Dear Teacher/Love Teacher TeachersPayTeachers Store! Check it out, if you haven’t had the chance! The image above is one of the printable posters in the set.

Pep Talk, Perseverance, Poster/Graphic, Theme Song

Standing Outside the Fire

Posted on October 15, 2013March 27, 2019 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Well, I am a day late, but it is still early in the week and I bet we could all use a theme song for it…especially those who had a day off yesterday. So let’s get to it. This song is going to be a “blast from the past” for a lot of us, but for some it may be the first time to hear this song. Whether it is new to you or a reminder of more youthful days, this song is a great theme for teachers and one we should hear and think about.

Click play, get through the ad if there is one, and then read on.

Teacher, like it or not, we are heroes. We fight battles, we run into danger, and we do the impossible. If not literally, we all do this figuratively. We take on the world of our students and help them through it and get them to the other side into adulthood and the future.

Not all teachers take this seriously. Some teachers look at this as more as a job than a calling and desire. They come in, survive the day, and put up with their students. They tow the line. They don’t step on toes. They teach what and how they are told to teach. They do little connect to students and see the student as the goal…the content is the goal and teaching it is success.

These teachers “stand outside the fire.”

That is not you, Teacher.

You dance within the flames. You take what you do and what you are in stride and with confidence. You know teaching is more than, well, teaching. It is connecting. It is getting to know your students. It is understanding your students. It is understanding the teaching and learning dynamic. It is teaching skills outside of your subject area. It is taking risks. It is being bold. It is being brave. It is taking on the fight and being the hero that your students need you to be.

You are not content with the status quo. You are not happy with just teaching your standards. Your students need more. You need more.

You are not afraid to step on toes when it comes to the needs of your students. You know what they need, you know how they learn, you know what they are capable of and their potential. You make choices for them, not for who is watching.

You get to know their families. You help their parents and guardians know how to help them learn more at home. You allow their family input on ways to help the student in the classroom. You make it a team effort and don’t try to do it all on your own.

You look for help from the teachers around you. You are not afraid to try new things in your classroom. You look around and see what is working and not working and then seek out strategies from others for whom things are definitely workings. You are not afraid to change.

You are also not afraid to reflect. You take a look at students and what they seem to be learning and not learning, and then you make adjustments in you and how you are teaching. You look at data. You are not afraid of data. You let data help you make instructional choices because it gives you a view of what your students need.

You are one of the great ones, Teacher! You do not stand outside the fire. You are in the thick of it. You are dancing around with the flames jumping all around you, and you love every minute of it! You are a hero. You are a teacher. Your students need you!

You are awesome and amazing. Your “fire dance” is making a difference. You are making a difference. Keep on teaching and keep on running into the fire, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS …The poster/graphic this morning is one of a line of printable posters that I created and made available on the TeachersPayTeachers Store. They will be called “Motivational ABCs.”

General Inspiration, Get Psyched!, Pep Talk, Theme Song, Uncategorized

Wavin’ Flag (and teaching our students to do the same)

Posted on September 23, 2013September 29, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Good Monday morning to you! I know, Mondays can be hard, but it is a new week and time to get pumped up for it. I think I found a good song to help you do that!

In case you are new to my Monday morning posts, click play and then read on. It is time for your weekly theme song. 🙂

Teacher friend, we have the most amazing job in the world. We teach. Well, we do more than just teach, but that is all a part of what being a teacher means.

What we do can be difficult, but that makes it no less amazing. I know that new weeks bring new challenges and stresses, but we can’t let that bring us down. It is a new day and a new week, and we get to start over…no matter what last week or yesterday was like! We need to find the joy in that!

It is a bright, sunny, new start! Even if it is raining where you are. We can lift our head up. We can wave our flag. We can find freedom in the newness of every day!

We need to. We have to. There is no way around it. It is a part of our job as teachers!

A part of our job? Really, DearTeacherLoveTeacher Guy?

Yes, it is a part of our job!

Why?

I am glad that you asked! It is a part of our job because, as I said, being a teacher is more than just teaching. A part of what we do is to model life for our students. They look up to us. They rely on us. They see us as a model of how to “do life.” If we do something, say something, or act in someway…they see it. They absorb it. They analyze it. And they mirror it.

Are we helping them prepare for life as well-balanced adults? What is the picture that we are giving them? What is the model that we are putting in front of them to follow? If they mimic us, what would we see?

How we react, how we act, how we cope, how we change, how we “do life” is constantly under the microscope of some of the most keen-eyed scientists in the world, our students. They are watching. They are waiting. They want to see what we do and how we live.

We never truly know the environment that our students come from, and we do not know the models for life that they have at home. They may need another way to think and react. They may need a different view on life. Are we showing that to our students? Are we showing another option than what they see at home?

True, a lot of our students may get great visions of life at home…but not all of them. Also, if they have great models at home, they are still watching you and others to see what it is like for other people. We are being analyzed no matter what.

So, are you showing your students how to embrace each and every day as a new start with confidence and a sense of freedom? Are we showing them how to start over? Are we teaching them to hold up their heads and wave their flags?

I know that you are showing your students what they need to see. I also know that if you have had some bad days with this that you will start fresh today and make some positive changes. I know that you love and care for you students, and you will do all that you can to help them learn how to “do life” well! You are awesome and amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…by the way, I am running a sale in my DearTeacher/LoveTeacher Store on TeachersPayTeachers. I have two new notes available. The picture at the top is one of them, and the picture that follows is another. The students and teachers at my school love getting and using these notes. You just print, cut, and write on the backs of them. Join me in spreading encouragement and causing a positive revolution!

General Inspiration, Pep Talk, Theme Song

What a Wonderful World

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

For me, this school year has been a little bit of a whirlwind. Each week is like a raging river. Once I step into it on Monday, I am whisked away and before I can catch my breath, it is Friday! I know my posts have been down to once a week, but hopefully there will be more places I can stop and rest in the weekly rivers soon. I hope to find time to post more often.

That said, it is Monday. Click play (get through the ad, if there is one) and read on. Oh, and after you read, go back and watch the video that goes with the song. It is pretty awesome!

As teachers, it is so easy to get caught up in what we do. We plan, we grade, we plan, we work on classroom management issues, we plan, we have meetings, we plan, we have after school responsibilities, we plan, we call parents, we plan, and we plan. Did I mention that we plan?

In all of the busyness of what we do, it is so, so, so very easy to get overwhelmed, over-stressed, and over-burdened. On top of that, so often what we plan seldom works as we planned, and we are constantly monitoring and adjusting. We become tired, burned-up, and burned-out. We forget why we love doing what we do because we are so busy doing what we do.

Today, I challenge you. Take a moment, someway and somehow, and come up for air. Take a breath. Take a look around. Remember why you are here.

Look and see the beauty of the world around you. See the beauty of teaching. See the beauty of learning. See your students as beautiful minds in training for the world of the future. See your students as people. See them as humans. See them as needing you. See them as beautiful.

Forget the stress. Forget the timelines. Forget the ebbs and flows of the day. Remember you are here for one beautiful and amazing reason…to teach, to help your students learn, and to grow and see growth.

The exchange of teaching and learning is a beautiful thing, and it goes both ways between our students and ourselves. Learn something from your students today.

There is also the beautiful world around you. Take some time to enjoy it. Stand in the sun. Watch the rain. Smell a flower. Have a tasty cup of coffee.

The world and teaching is beautiful. Take some time to remember that today and this week, and then share that beauty with others.

You are awesome! You are a beautiful human being about the beautiful business of teaching and learning. Don’t forget that! Keep on teaching and keep remembering to take the time to see that beauty around you, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Pep Talk, Theme Song

[it’s] The Climb

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Can you tell with the dramatic decrease in posts that it has been a busy start to my new school year? New school years are always hectic, but even more so when there is a drastic change to what or how you are teaching. This is kind of what today’s post is about. However, first things first. It is Monday, so it means this is a theme song post.

This past week, for me, is more than just the start of a new school year. Last week marked a change in how I teach. This summer I did a lot of work to learn more about teaching/learning and best practices for making that transaction of teaching and learning happen more effectively for me and my students. I found out a lot of things that need to change, I planned ways to make those changes, and last Wednesday was where the rubber met the road with it all.

I have made two major changes. I am teaching through the use of Problem Based Learning units, and I am using brain-based learning strategies for my actual instruction. This are both huge shifts in how I teach. Not that I was not student-centered before, but these two things are making me far more intentional about anything and everything I do in the classroom.

This transition started with a long look in the mirror. I had to stop pointing fingers about the lack of improvement for some of my students. I had to take responsibility for my side of the teaching/learning relationship. This drove me to look and ask for help. I did this in a variety of ways, but something that kept coming up was Problem Based Learning (PBL) and brain-based strategies. So I spent time learning about both of these.

I was, in essence, driven back to the drawing board. In a lot of ways, I started over with how I thought about my role as a teacher, my students’ roles as learners, and what my classroom should look and feel like. I made strides with changing these things. I redesigned my classroom, my style of teaching, and how I set up the dynamics of lessons and units. I put a lot of effort into this over the summer.

Last week, it all began. This song pretty much sums up my experience.

It was hard to constantly remind myself of the changes that I am making. I had to constantly rethink every interaction and transition. I had to remember to keep each activity targeted and intentional. I had to keep my mind on the fact that students that were not engaged might be a sign of something that I need to adjust in the classroom. I had to be more proactive about every situation and potential conflict.

It got easier throughout the week, but it was difficult and tiring. I came in early every day and stayed late. I reflected and took mental notes. I made small adjustments moment by moment, depending on the need. It very much was a climb.

Did I lose some battles with myself? Sure. Did I get tired and worn out? Of course. Did I lose sight of my goals from time to time? Yes. Did I want to give up and slide back down the mountain every once in a while? Affirmative. Did I give up? NO. Did I keep climbing? YES.

Change is about the climb. It is about moving in the right direction. Are we always going to win? No, we aren’t. Is going to be work, and hard work at that? Yes, you know that it is. It is the work and difficulties that actually change us. We learn from failures more than successes. When we have to backtrack and start again, we know what not to do and can do better the next time.

Becoming the teacher we can be is difficult. But we need to keep on moving. We need to keep on climbing. As we climb, we are becoming more and more of the teacher that we need to be for our students. We choose a destination, but it is the climb that makes us better. Reaching the goal is not the ultimate success. Being the person that we will become to meet that goal is the true success. Change is the highest achievement. The climb is what causes this change.

You are awesome! I know that you are striving to make the changes that you need to make for the betterment of your students! I know that you will keep working to make those changes! You are amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher, and climb on!

Love, Teacher

Get Psyched!, Pep Talk, Theme Song, You Are Awesome!!!

It’s My Life [and my school year]

Posted on August 19, 2013August 19, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Okay, I know that you may or may not be starting the new school year when you read this. However, there is a good chance that you are, because most of the readers of this blog are from the US. If you are not starting the new school year, you may still find some motivation here in this post, so read on. I hope it will be worth your time!

This is a theme song post; you know the procedures by now, I hope! Click play and then start reading when the music starts!

This is it, Teacher. A new school year is upon you. Are you ready? Are you nervous? Are you anxious? Are you excited? Or are you, like me, a jumble and mix of all three and then some?

What are your plans for the year? I don’t mean unit and lesson plans. I mean what are your plans in the terms of what you want the school year to look like? Do you have those kind of plans? Do you have goals, hopes, and dreams for what the school year could be like? I don’t mean the kind of hopes and dreams that you think, “That would be nice but it won’t happen.” I mean the kind of hopes and dreams that you believe in so much that it gets you up in the morning and you will wear yourself out to make happen?

A lot of us had those kind of plans when we first started teaching. Unfortunately, the longer you teach the more that kind of thinking fades. Lofty and slightly unrealistic goals get beat out of you by the realities of teaching. It does happen slowly, thank goodness, but our hopes erode over the years.

Drip by drip, the stress and pressure of teaching starts to wear on you. It breaks down the hope. It washes some of the dreaming away. It dims the light that used to shine so bright.

Sometimes this gets to the point that the school year happens to you. You get stuck in a form of “survival mode” that you stay in just to make it through. You love and do your best with your students, but the spark is faded or gone. You go along with the waves and currents of the year because you have so little fight left. It is a normal part of teaching for so many of us. Don’t feel bad if you have been there or are there. There is hope!

What is that hope, Mr. Dear Teacher/Love Teacher?

The hope is that IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!

Most of this is going to be a mental exercise, so I know that you may or may not see this as a little bit of “pie in the sky hooey,” but you just have to change your thinking! You have to believe that this year is going to be different. This year will be the change and you will never be the same teacher again! You have to stand firm and resolute. You have have to stand tall, look this new school year in the eye, and be determined that you are going to happen to the year and the year is not just going to happen to you!

Your attitude has to change.

Remember way back to when you first started out. Remember those wild-eyed dreams that you had. Remember the teacher that you were determined to be. Remember how you were going to take the world by storm and change the lives of your students for the better.

Have that image and those thoughts in your head, and then look in the mirror and tell yourself that it is not too late. You know why? It is because, no matter how long that you have been teaching, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! You can still be that teacher! You can still meet those goals!

The best part is that the longer you have been teaching, the more know-how and experience you have to make those things happen and be that teacher you wanted to be. You just have to purpose yourself to do so! And you can! You can because you are awesome!

The past does not matter. No matter the teacher you have been, you can still be the teacher you always wanted to be! Find a way to do it. Hang out with those teachers that are closest to what you dreamed of being. Learn from them. Read, read, read! There are so many sources for strategies and ideas! I will post some of those sources soon. Get to know your students. Find out what they think they need from you as a teacher. Try to become the teacher that they need!

Teacher, YOU CAN DO THIS!

It is your teaching life. It is your year. It is now or never. Teach like your alive! You are alive! You can be the great teacher you wanted to be or that people think you are and you don’t believe them. It is never too late!

BE AWESOME! MAKE THIS YEAR AWESOME! DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES! YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU ARE AMAZING! KEEP ON TEACHING, TEACHER!

This is your year, and don’t you forget it!

Love, Teacher

Best of Dear Teacher/Love Teacher, Theme Song, You Are Awesome!!!

The Best of the Weekly Theme Songs

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

For me, this is the last full week before teachers go back to school for the new year. I have so much planning and other things that I want to get done! I think I am going to have to chill it with the blog for this week. So…this week will be the “Best of Dear Teacher/Love Teacher.” I am going to post links to several posts from the last three months, and then I am going to give you a challenge. I want you to pick your favorite, share why it is your favorite, and then share it everywhere that you can (Edmodo, Facebook, Twitter, etc…).

Today is the best of the weekly theme songs. Because there have not been that many, I am going to share a link to all of them. Which is your favorite?

My favorite is Stronger. That song has been in my head a lot since I found out the results of the State Tests. I know that I can use the unmet expectations as fuel for next year. It is driving me to work harder to have things together for my students and to use what I have learned to be more effective in years to come. I am stronger, and I will continue to get stronger!

Which is your favorite? Why? Go out and share the encouragement!

You are awesome! You are amazing! This year will be the best one yet, I just know it! Keep on teaching and keep on getting stronger, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…I have an idea. I want to compile stories about teachers who have made a difference in peoples’ lives. It can be a story or a “Dear Teacher ___________” thank you letter. I want to share them on here and maybe in a couple of other ways (possibly a book). If you are interested, email dearteacher@outlook.com and put “Teacher Story” or “Teacher Thank You Letter” in the subject. Thanks. I am excited about this project!

General Inspiration, Pep Talk, Theme Song

(there can be miracles) When You Believe

Posted on July 30, 2013July 30, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I am so sorry. I was not able to post my normal Monday morning post. Even though the weekly theme song is a day late, the week is still young. I chose this song because it is a powerful one sung by to powerful voices. I need this boost of inspiration this week, I don’t know about you. Click play (and skip the ad if one comes up) and then read on.

For those of us on summer break, it is slowly coming to a close. The days are soon approaching when you will be meeting your students at the door of your classroom. You will, once again, be that face of education for them. You will be the one that sets the tone for your class and the day for many of your students. What you say, do, think, and feel about them will help decide what they say, do, think, and feel about themselves.

Our job is hard, We have to plan curriculum, timing, assessments and the like. We have to implement and delver those plans we made. We have to manage the classroom. We have to help students on their good days and their bad days. We have to help students on our good and bad days. We have to deal with difficult students and find ways to bring them back into the learning environment. We have to keep students engaged. We have to find a way to help them learn. We have to ensure they are ready for success on state tests. We have to follow guidelines and expectations from the state, district, and administration. We have a lot of balls to juggle at once. It is hard to keep them all in the air most days.

And along with all of this, and probably above all of this, we are the key to our students’ attitude and belief about learning and education. The way we talk, carry ourselves, and visibly feel (feeling show) affect how they act and feel. Your attitude sets their attitude. Your tone sets their tone. Your expectations for them become the expectations that they have for themselves.

The best word that I can think of to sum this up is belief. I am not talking about spiritual belief (though important to most people), I am talking about belief in yourself and others. Beliefs are powerful. They affect you and those around you. What you believe sets the atmosphere of your classroom and the students sitting in it. Your belief in them and what you are teaching them becomes what they believe. If your belief about achievement is low, it will be low for your students. If it is high, it will be high for your students.

The amazing thing about beliefs is that you don’t have to talk someone into them. You don’t need “buy-in.” If you are bought in, your students will eventually be bought in. When someone truly believes in you, eventually you start to believe them and then believe in yourself. This is doubly true for your students. You set the environment of belief and they tune into it. Like it or not, this is the reality.

So…what are your beliefs for the coming year (or the year you are in if you are currently teaching)? What does your belief about your students, classroom, and school say to the students. Are your goals set unbelievably high? If they aren’t, they should be. Set them high and believe, truly believe, that your students can reach them. Make them attainable goals, but make them lofty. Once your goals are in place, communicate them constantly to your students. Then believe. Believe. Believe. Your students WILL buy in and start to believe themselves.

The song is so right. There can be miracles when you believe. Belief helps you to do things that you never thought you could do before. It makes you rise to heights you did not know you could reach. It makes you more than you could be.

A few posts back, I shared a bunch of clips. Two of them were from Taylor Mali. The last one is called “Miracle Workers.” In it he talks about teachers as miracle workers. He says this near the end of the talk/poem, “Education is the miracle. I am just the work. I am a teacher, and that’s what we do.”

Be a miracle worker. Set high goals for the year and believe, believe, BELIEVE!

You are awesome! I know this week will be great for you. I know this coming school year (or current one) will be great. Be awesome because you are awesome. If you need someone to believe in you, know that I do. I believe in you. Be amazing! Keep on dreaming and teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Get Psyched!, Pep Talk, Theme Song

[we and our students are] Meant to Live

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Good morning. It is Monday. You know what that means! Weekly theme song. This one is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. I am not sure if that is telling too much about me out not! 🙂 I picked this week’s song because I am pumped up. I got through some difficult mental/emotional hiccups last week after a school meeting and learning the state test results last week, and now all of that is fuel for my personal teaching change and to help my students to fly next year! I know I can raise them (and me) up to more than they (and I) could be without a little change in me!

Without further ado. Click play (and skip the add if one comes up) and then keep reading.

Teacher, where ever you might be in the school year. You may be, like me, in the summer and it is approaching the end and a new school year is looming larger and larger on the horizon. You might be in the throes of the school year with things going great or not so great. You may be in another place in the school year, I don’t know.

And I don’t know how you are feeling. Are you excited? Are things going well? Are plans coming together and next year is starting to take shape? Are you students doing well and all of your hard work and planning is paying off? Or are you on the other side? Are you terrified or extremely nervous about the new school year and things are not coming together for you? Are you falling a part? Is the school year not going so well? Is all of your hard work and planning looking like a waste of time and your students are just not getting it? Do they just not want to get it?

You most likely have a mixed bag. That seems to be how most of us spend the school year. A little from columns A, B, C, and D. Some things are going well and your feeling good about how things look. Other areas are not so good and you are a stressful wreck. And with other factors you are just kind of in the middle. This is how I spend most of the school year and summer. I think we all do. We are teachers. We find a balance somehow!

No matter where you may be and how you may feel, I want you to stop, breathe, and relax. Now, think of the biggest boldest, most impossible sounding goals you can have for yourself, your classroom, and your students. Dream big. Where do you wish you and your students could be as teachers and learners? Who do you wish you could be as a teacher? What would you be doing? Who do you wish your students could be as learners and scholars? What is your most impossible. yet semi-realistic goal that you would like your students to meet? Teacher, I am serious. Think of one or two gaudy goals for you and your students (“gaudy goals” are an idea from the training I went to a couple of weeks ago). If you don’t have something to shoot for, how do you know where you are aiming?

Now that you have a goal in mind, find a way to get there. I am serious. What can you change? What can you do? Pick a handful of small things that you can do to try to move and find a path to those big, impossible sounding dreams. Everything was impossible for the first time they were done. There are some awesome examples of teachers who have done this and found their way to make the dreams reality. I hope to highlight some of them soon, but that doesn’t matter right now because you could be one of those teachers. Dreams are just dreams until we make them real. How can you make your dreams and goals the real world for you and your students?

Teacher, you and your students are meant for so much more. Do not be happy where you are with your students, where ever that may be. You are meant to live for something more. Your students are meant to live for something more. Be something more. Move your students on to be something more. You can do it! You can be more! Go be more! Don’t ride this feeling off. I know that something stirred inside of you while you thought of bigger dreams. Do it! Work at it! Make something more happen. Be the something more for yourself, your students, and your school! You are something more. Prove it this week!

You are awesome! You are the more! I know you will show it to yourself and the world at-large this week! Be the teacher you know that you always could be. Go big this week! I mean it! You are amazing! You will make a difference this week, and every week! Keep on going and keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…For those of you who use Edmodo, I have started an Edmodo Group for the daily updates.

Challenge, General Inspiration, Teacher Testimony, Theme Song

Why You and I Are Here…You Raise Me Up

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Yesterday I talked about how I was feeling overwhelmed when I looked at my goals and expectations for the new year (and all the work it will take to get there). This morning I am feeling overwhelmed in a different way…a good way. First of all, just a quick follow-up from yesterday. I took my own advise and just worked in the areas I knew that I could get some stuff done pretty easily. Throughout the day, those little things built on each other and I was able to make some great strides in climbing that mountain of preparation for the new year! I had a few people cheering me on, and that helped!

This is not why I am overwhelmed this morning, though. I am overwhelmed because of you! I had more people respond to yesterday’s post than any other. Most of the feedback came through Edmodo and the Facebook Page, and it just kept coming. Many people shared about how yesterday’s post encouraged them and helped them to keep moving even when the task was daunting. Along with this, many of the messages also shared what this blog means to them and how the encouragement, hope, and challenges help them to feel like they are not alone. Knowing you are not the only one feeling what you feel and that other people are going through the same things that you are going through goes along way to renew you teacher’s heart.

These messages make me want to share, again, why I started this blog and what I hope to spark with it…and I think the sparks are flying. But before I do, I am going to veer a little off of the new normal here and have a song to listen to while you read on a Thursday (two songs in one week! Woo hoo! 🙂 ). Play the song and then read on.

Teacher, I am just like you. I teach because I love it. I teach because I want to make a difference. I teach because I do not think I could not teach. Teaching is in my heart, blood, and soul. I am a teacher, just like you.

I am also a teacher just like you in that I get stressed by the expectations from others. I love my students, but sometimes teaching them can be difficult. Sometimes the weight of all the little things that come along with teaching weigh me down. Sometimes those things can bowl me over and run me down. I get tired. I get beat up. I get worn down. I see the ebb and flow of the year that always wants to push me closer and closer to burnout. I fight it off…but it is hard. I know what you go through in a year, Teacher. I am just like you. I am a teacher.

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

Every school year I get to that point right on the precipice of burnout. I can see and smell it. I don’t get to the point of burnout every year, but I usually get close. Really close. Last year was different, though. I saw burnout on the horizon, but I never really got that close to it. It stayed in the distance, far away.

Why? What was different last year.

I can actually point to a number of things that helped make that happen, but I want to focus on one. Hope. The power of hope. The funny part is, it wasn’t hope for me. It was hope for others.

I read through the book Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen near the end of the school year (great book whether or not you teach at a Title I school or not), and I got to a section that talked about the power that hope has on the brain and learning. This opened my eyes. I needed to help give my students hope and encouragement more intentionally and make it a priority. I took on the task of handwriting personal notes to all 80 of my students. The response was amazing! I will write more about this another day, but the students loved getting these…I had some students hound me about it until they got theirs. They started asking the other teachers when they would be writing notes! Sorry teammates! 🙂

As I wrote these letters, I got to thinking how much some simple words of real encouragement (based on positive truth..the only kind of encouragement I know how to give) would make me feel and spur me on to bigger and greater things. I went looking online for some kind of source of this kind of encouragement for teachers. It wasn’t there. I could not find anything like that. I wanted something for teachers by teachers to give hope and encouragement. I just couldn’t find it. So I decided to create it myself! Thus Dear Teacher/Love Teacher was born!

The purpose of Dear Teacher/Love Teacher is give hope, encouragement, inspiration, and challenges to you, Teacher, from another or other teachers (me and my Substitute Teachers). More than giving you hope, though, the other purpose, or the sparks, is that I want to push you on to do the same for other teachers and for your students. I want you to be a conduit of hope and inspiration. There is so much negativity in education right now…I want to start an Encouragement Revolution. That starts with me and starts with you.

Going back to the beginning when I talked about burnout, I think that hope giving and spreading is one of the big reason that burnout stayed away from me this year. Encouraging others encouraged me and kept me going!

The reason that I believe encouragement is so important to give out, is that it is a part of our job as teachers…or should be. I had you play this song, not so you could think about the people who “raise [you] up” but to start thinking about yourself as someone that others could sing this song to. I want you to be a person that raises people (both other teachers and your students) up to more than they could be.

How can you…

lift some burdens from some of your fellow teachers?
sit a while with someone who feels alone and help them feel less lonely?
fill your students with wonder?
help students and other teachers feel like they can climb impossible mountains?
walk with a teacher over a stormy sea?
make a student or a younger teacher stronger by being on your shoulders?
push those around you to be more than they could be without you?

Teacher, if you are here reading this. You understand the importance of hope. You get the need for encouragement. You want to be inspired and challenged. I am glad you came. I am glad you are finding that here. Now go and give what you have gotten here out to others! If you just keep it to yourself it isn’t worth as much! If you give away all the good that you have and run out…come back here for a refill. That is what I am here for!

You are so awesome! I know that you will leave a trail of that awesome behind where ever you go! You are amazing and you are making a difference! Keep going and keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher