You are almost there! You have almost made it! Holiday break is just around the corner. You can almost count the minutes!
You have worked so hard to keep students engaged. You have poured your heart out. You have put in the hours and the energy to capture their hearts and minds. You have tried to make this time before break both educational and memorable. And you have done it. You have knocked it out of the park!
It may not have been perfect, you you have done well, my friend. Great job! Amazing! You are such a great teacher!
The students may not always appreciate the work you do now, but you are making a difference. You are doing so well. Every minute may not be awesome, but your awesome never stops. Nice job. You have done what you do so well. You are so awesome!
Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for working so hard. Thank you for caring so much. Thank you for being you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
I hope you have the best holiday break ever! Take it easy. Take a break. Rest. Relax. Get charged up for the rest of the year!
You are so awesome! You are so amazing! Your students need you and you are making a difference in their lives. Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Have a great break, you have earned it and deserve it!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
I don’t know about you, but I am swamped with a million things to do and time to do about one or two. So, blog time is kind of on the back-burner at the moment. For that reason, today I going to be a little different.
I am going to link a whole bunch of my theme song posts, and I want you to pick your favorite, come back here and share which one you like most and why, and then share your favorite post in your social networks. Tomorrow I will look at the comments and the stats for the posts and declare the “All-Time Favorite Theme Song Post.”
Who’s in?
Alright, well, check out a few, pick your fave, come talk about it, and then share the link with your friends. Which one do you think will win? 🙂
Which will be your theme this week? Why? Share it!
You are awesome! I know you will rock this week. I hope you found a theme song to help you rock it harder! You are amazing and you are making a difference. Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to my blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
You are a lot of things, and you play a lot of roles. But most of all, you are AWESOME! You are changing lives! You are amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to 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!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher.)
Dear Teacher,
I am not sure where you are in your summer break or school year, but for me it is the last day of summer. Tomorrow is the first day back for teachers. The countdown is on! Summer is over and it is time to start remember what day it is again (stole that one from a post I saw on Facebook).
Weekly theme song time, so click play and keep reading. This is a silly version of the song, but it still works!
This is it. You have rested. You have planned…maybe. You have had some summer PD.
Last year is officially “in the bag,” and the new one is about to begin. Are you ready? Your students are almost to your classroom door. They are waiting for you. Are you waiting for them?
Teacher, this year could be the best year ever. Make it the best year ever! No matter what has happened in the past, this year can and will be different. Make it that way. You can. You are awesome. You can do it! You just have to be brave enough to do whatever it takes to make that happen…and you can!
So, what do you need to do with the minutes ticking off of the clock?
Get your mind ready. Take a look in the mirror. No finger pointing at anyone besides yourself, what do you need to change about you? What things can you do different with your students? How can you build relationships better? How can you deal with stress better? How can you plan more efficiently? How can you communicate with parents better? How can you change in how you interact with fellow teachers and administration?
Get your heart ready. Take a look in that mirror and only point at yourself again, what do you need to fix? What fences do you need to mend? What bridges need fires put out? Who do you need to forgive and/or as forgiveness from at your school? You need to work with who you work with for the sake of the students. You need to make it work. What do you need to do to make things work? Do you need to forgive yourself? Do you need to move on from the past and just let some things go? Do it. It will be worth it to have the best year ever!
Get your spirit ready. Take one more look in that mirror with your fingers ready to point, what do you need to be excited for the coming year? Do you need to just let go of curricular hang-ups? Do you need to forget your worries about expectations from others? Do you need to erase your bad experiences with students from years past and just assume this year will be better? It will be better. Get excited! You have the best job ever! You are about to have students that you have never taught before! They don’t know your past! You get to start over! Start over! Find something to be excited about and BE EXCITED!
This is the final countdown to the best year ever! Get excited! Expect the best! Let go of the past and just find ways to make this the year of your teaching dreams! It can be, no matter your circumstances. Make it that way!
You are awesome! I wish you the most awesome-est year you have ever had! Make this year as awesome as you are! Keep dreaming and keep on teaching, Teacher!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
Today’s “Greatest Hits” are messages that I have enjoyed creating for us. I say us, because sometimes I go back and look at them/read them for encouragement and inspiration, too. I started making the picture notes as a way to send a second message at the end of each day near the end of the school year. I know now that I can’t sustain two posts a day, so the picture messages are weaved into the daily messages.
What has been so much fun is finding new ways to make them. The phrase “There’s an app for that” has never been truer for something! I have found online and tablet apps that let me make fun picture messages to brighten our day or to encourage us.
Because I have started to write a little message along with the picture notes, I have decided to break the “best of” into two lists. Picture notes with no extra message and picture notes with extra messages. Check out as many as you have time for and enjoy!
Week’s End Note (this was the first “outside of the box” hand written note…really fun to make…gave the post-its to a teacher at my school and she still has it!)
Day’s End Encouragement (the Playdoh note…the picture at the top of the post…really fun to make…my son helped me!)
The Empty Cup (one of the most popular picture notes, and my favorite)
Which ones are your favorites? Why? Why don’t you go share some of the links? 🙂
You are awesome! I hope you are having a great week! You are making a difference! Keep being awesome and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Repeat PS from Monday and yesterday…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! (I will post more details about this soon, but please send your story/letter if you can!)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
Today’s “best of” is made up of some of my favorite posts to write, and include some of my favorite all-time posts. Every once in a while we need to remember why we do what we do and get excited about it. We may be on the downside of the teaching roller coaster and a little boost of reminder is all it takes to be headed back up the hill. That is what these posts are about! They are supposed to remind you of the awesomeness of what you do so that you want to go out there and be awesome-er! Here is to being awesome-er!
Some of these are older and you may have definitely missed them. Check out as many as you can and let us all know your favorite (and why)!
Hopelessly Hopeful (one of the very first Dear Teacher/Love Teacher posts)
Fridays of More(what Fridays really mean for teachers most weeks)
Rock Star(this one is one of my top favorite posts, and it was an early one)
Well, I hope you are “pepped” after reading a few! Pick your favorite, tell us why it is your favorite, and then go and share the link to it! You can have more than one favorite, if you want. 🙂
You are awesome! Today is going to be a great day! You are going to have a great rest of the week! You are amazing and are making a difference for the future! Never forget that! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Repeat PS from yesterday…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! (I will post more details about this soon, but please send your story/letter if you can!)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to my blog.)
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!
Dear Teacher/Love Teacher 