Happy FriYAY! Today is a most wonderful Friday because one, I finished my last week of STAAR-related work yesterday afternoon, and two, I'm going to Austin today! But before I jet off to the land of Longhorns, let's get on with our regularly scheduled Friday post, shall we? This time, in article form.
Train Teachers Like
Doctors
This article is a really great one. And one that sits near
to my heart. And without mentioning it by name, I feel as though it is speaking
to the Teach for America program, and programs of the like – one with good
intentions, but one that is not necessarily executed to the best of its ability,
in my opinion, anyway. Let’s think about it. Doctors get years and years and
years of hands-on training before they are given their own stethoscopes and scalpels,
and while I’m not insinuating teachers need quite
so many years of training, I am saying that the quality of teacher training
matters. A lot of time and money goes into training doctors, and I would agree
that it’s time and money well-spent. I would hope that my neurosurgeon – should
I ever need one – has had THE very best training. And why should teacher
training be any different? After all, we are
the ones teaching the future doctors.
20 Signs You’re Doing
Better Than You Think You Are
It’s very possible that I have shared this article with you guys before.
But for any newbies to this adulting thing, I want to share it again. And it is
a reality check for me, who will often complain about things that I really have
no business complaining about. I complain about how I can’t afford to do
SoulCycle on a regular basis, but I can also afford to spend money on a cow
suit for Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day. Though I feel as though this will
get quite a bit of use. Anyway, I have a job that I love, and though I’m
working far more than the standard 40 hours, I also have time to do the things
that give me life. Both my refrigerator and closet are full, I have an
incredible crew of friends, I have goals, and I’ve got the cutest beagle pup in
the neighborhood. I’m not sure where the complaints fit into that equation.
A Stanford Dean on
Skills Every 18-Year-Old Should Have
I think I’ve shared this article before, too, but I think
it’s such a good one, especially now that I have been a teacher and coach for a
couple of years, and I have seen firsthand the repercussions that come from parents
who do everything for their children. Heck, I saw them when I went to college –
not only in the people around me at SRD (Spoiled Rotten Daughters, right?), but
in myself a little bit as well. Whether the next step is college, or the next
step is a real-world job, failure – at some level – is inevitable, a planner
(whether paper or electronic) is an invaluable tool, and understanding that
things aren’t always going to go the way you hoped or planned, are truths that
should be etched in every 18-year-old’s
mind. And though I’m 24 (so far past 18, you know), these are skills I’m still
working on. Especially the managing money one.
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| Rollerblading is a good skill to have, too |
Hey, New Teachers,
It’s Okay to Cry in Your Car
THIS. ARTICLE. I’m technically not a “new teacher” anymore
(okay, yes I am), but if this article doesn’t epitomize my first year teaching,
I don’t know what does. For the first couple of months, I would literally pray
for traffic on the Westpark Tollway so that I would be late to school. And I’m
not late for anything. I had lost my joy and I was stressed out all the time.
My parents were legitimately concerned over the fact that I was so visibly
unhappy. And while I had been told that the first year would be hard, I naively
thought I would be immune to it. “I’ve worked hard, I’ve earned this, and I’ve
got this,” I told myself, as I threw on red heels and walked out the door for
my first day at Bellaire High School. Fast forward two months and I was
researching what else I could possibly do with an English degree, fighting back
constant tears as I juggled teaching two preps with volleyball season. But you
know what? It got better. It just
took time. And I hope every new teacher understands that it’s going to be hard,
but that the tough days are what make the great days so much sweeter. And yes,
it’s really okay to cry in your car. But maybe save it for the drive home – you
don’t want to mess up your make-up!
Teachers Respond: Veteran
Teachers Cry in Their Cars Too
I may not be a brand new teacher anymore, but I’m not sure
that I would call myself a veteran, either. However, this article was published
as hundreds of readers responded to the above article, encouraging new teachers
to stick with it, even admitting that after years and years and years of
teaching, sometimes even they cry in their cars. And these emotions are there
because they care. And that a glass
of wine goes a long way. Teaching is an incredibly difficult profession, but it’s
such a rewarding and fulfilling profession. And I know that the help and
encouragement that comes from the people I work with every single day has
helped me more than I can put into words. We have such an important job, and it’s
worth all of our energy. So if a good cry is what allows you to start the next
day fresh and with a new attitude, so be it. And for the record, DEVOLSON is totally
a real thing. A very, very real thing.
The One Piece of
Advice That Changed My Life
I loved this article. Absolutely, positively loved it. Six
readers each shared a piece of advice that changed their lives, and that they
still carry with them to this day. And while I loved and resonated with each
one of these pieces of advice, the one that stuck to me the most was “Run Your
Own Race.” We are deep in the age of Social Media. And it’s not going away
anytime soon. And that’s okay! I love social media, and I don’t want it to go
away. I think there’s a lot of good that can come from it, but there is also a
lot of comparison that can come from it. Much like the actual running of races
(maybe this is why I like this statement so much), we are all on our own paths,
and we are all on our own timetables. It’s so easy for me to look at social
media and see yet another engagement and feel as though I’m “falling behind” (I
don’t actually think that, but it’s one that’s fairly relatable). Whether it’s
jobs or friends or traveling or marriages or kids or whatever, you’re running your
best race. And that’s all you can do.
And I think I gave you plenty to think about on this Friday morning. And with that, I'm off to BodyPump, and then for a quick weekend in Austin with my favorite shotgun rider. Hopefully we'll catch a glimpse of Charlie Strong while on campus. Hook 'em!
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