Dear Teachers

I received an email from NPR Ed on Thanksgiving with a title that made me pause: Hey, New Teachers, It's OK To Cry In Your Car Yikes. It’s OK to cry in your car. Really? The article goes on to say that 10% of all new teachers will quit within that first year, and October and November are a special crumbling zone. This information supports the layout I prepared in Dear Teachers. I started by highlighting points about yourself (September), your people (October), and now the struggles here in November. We all need preparation. Hitting a wall after 6 weeks of school is similar to the walls you hit after you set up New Year’s Resolutions. Grandiose plans hit the repeated speed-bumps of reality, and we can start to feel hopeless and helpless. A few people can plug on while most others fall off to varying degrees. The more we’ve prepared for the bumps, the farther we’ll go. The more tricks and tools we have, the more likely we’ll reach some serious successes we can build...

Gray wool skies. Sleet. Wind. A few shriveled leaves clinging sadly to craggy branches. Misunderstandings. Looming deadlines. Absences. An unexpected call late in the day. Both of these lists are things that can be considered the “cold and dark” of life. These are things that can make us feel depressed, oppressed, sad or even angry. Week 11 of Dear Teachers starts with this quote from Francis Bacon: “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” Take a look at Marlene’s photo. It’s a prime example of this. The sun creates gorgeous shadows. The shadows give the light its richness. Deepest dark defines both the foreground and the horizon, alternating with warm sky and its reflection. The water’s calm depth is what allows the light to sparkle on its surface through the shimmering cattail shadows. It’s been a year since I began the journey of writing Dear Teachers. It was a dark time for me mentally and physically but the writing process wa...

I participated in a Twitter chat this morning which revolved around the time change we just underwent. Folks on #Peopleskills gave some great responses to questions about what falling back means, the difference between falling back and learning from our past, and how falling back can be a good thing or a destructive thing and why. It segues well into Week 9 of Dear Teachers . Marlene’s picture is a bleak and craggy one, in my opinion. There’s a patch of green, but for the most part, the scene is bare with terrain that looks extremely difficult to traverse. I imagined trying to cross that stream and saw myself slipping on the rough cobble which is tumbled everywhere. Sometimes, we have to fall back. Allowing it to happen can be a gift: to adjust our plans to match the true situation we find ourselves in and to achieve genuine success. As Tom Reid @_TomGReid posted, “The earlier a space probe makes a trajectory adjustment, the less fuel (easier) it is. Unless you period...

It’s hard to believe that October’s amber-toned days are almost gone. Well, at least in some ways, perhaps. Hopefully, we’re keeping an eye on ourselves and restocking our reserves as we make our way through the year’s business. Otherwise, we could be eyeing the calendar skeptically instead of surprisingly. October’s Dear Teachers essays celebrated our people- everyone who helps us along the way. November’s focus? One of the key reasons why we need those people: our inevitable struggles. This beautiful image of Marlene’s really spoke to me. She captured both power and clean balance. As I was sitting with this photo, I happened to watch a show where the main characters were swimmers- their practices were integral to the show’s message. The cool underwater camera angles mirrored this shot to such an extent, I had to write about it. I saw a message for us all. Yes, we can’t eliminate drag completely. However, some of our struggles are self-induced and these can be well withi...

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...

October’s essays all deal with people and how we influence each other. First, ourselves. Week 5 reminded us of all the work we do to prepare our lives, with reminders that things might not go according to our ideals. Week 8 challenges us to really walk our talk, whatever that might be, and encourage the same for others. Let's celebrate our diversity instead of freaking out over whether we're filling some image of "perfection" or not. The photo's quote is pulled from that essay and the image is an early one that inspired me to start writing it. Then, widening circles of influence spreading outward away from us: family, friends, coworkers, students, administrations, local communities, state, national and worldwide. Week 7 asks us to remember our flight crews. Rely on them. Grow them to support you even more. Until now, I’ve skipped over Week 6. We need Week 6 when we find ourselves struggling with the results we’re experiencing in Weeks 5, 7 and 8. Time ...

As we go through our days encouraging others, let's remember the same goes for us. We work. We try. Sometimes we "fail". There's always a harvest, though. We can always achieve something if we keep going back into the field to harvest. I'm still preparing.... I wrote this one when there was a ton of chaos in my life. I was trying to console myself as much as others. I had a vision that wasn't fitting with the reality before me or the future that I could take if I dared. I’ve discovered recently that my reaction is probably a result of my turbulent nature. I wrote about it today on my blog and titled it Owning Our Turbulence . By owning who we really are, we can build on it from there. The UK organization @HealthyTeacherToolkit, is focusing on optimism for the month of October. Here’ a link to their starter blog #OptimismOctoberHT . I loved the graphic they used so I’ve shared it as well. We can gain optimism by thinking about our inner gifts...