Dear Teachers

The family saw Avengers: Infinity War yesterday. Believe it or not, I saw big connections with this week’s essay in Dear Teachers : Offer Your Colors and Flavor . I won’t go into detail, but this movie centers around collaboration. As I wrote in this week’s essay, we all have a flavor: our color of our bloom. It’s our decision on if we hide it or expose it to the world. I operate one way. You operate in another way. T'Challa works one way. Black Widow works another. The important part is this: trying and encouraging others to do as well. Together. “Sure, we put ourselves at risk when we do this. We may be ridiculed or targeted with malicious intent. Yet, whether we are a vibrant monarch or dust-brown moth, the universe is a more beautiful place with our presence and participation.” Spoiler alert: There are no guarantees! We may fail. Repeatedly. We may have to battle the fear of failure or of offending someone by our choices. But, if we ourselves rememb...

It’s a soggy morning filled with drips and plops and heavy skies. The remaining leaves, in vibrant hues, are shining valiantly beneath leaden clouds. We’re not quite to the time of year when the trees look as they do in this gorgeous shot, but we’re getting there. Last week I wrote about the essay that’s attached to this photo in Dear Teachers . In October’s theme of people, we sometimes need to sit and listen to ourselves- alone. Other times, we need the help of others. My twitter feed was filled this week with this blog titled This is what teachers need: Smiles and Love by Chris Dyson , a head teacher in a primary school in the UK, posted on Viv Grant’s leadership coaching site, integritycoaching.co.uk . I liked how he gave examples of what he has done to reduce teacher stress. And why: “Stress = worry. Worry = anxiety. Anxiety = no risks. No risks = boring lessons. Boring lessons = lack of inspiration. Lack of inspiration = a negative experience for the s...