If teaching in front of a computer all day has you feeling just as drained if not more than teaching in front of a classroom full of kids, you’re not alone. Zoom fatigue, also known as online fatigue, if for real. If you’re looking for a reprieve from being in front of a screen 24-7, you may find the answers you’re looking for in this interview with Megan Brown. Megan is a 6th grade teacher currently teaching at a fully online school that her district put together for this year. She is a Google certified educator level 1 and 2 and will be graduating with a Masters in instructional design and technology in the Spring of 2021. She enjoys learning new technology resources and coming up with meaningful lessons using different resources, with her favorite resource being Google Forms. Megan is also the host of the podcast "So You Want to Teaching with Technology." Are you ready to beat Zoom Fatigue so you can "zoom" to other things beside the million tabs on your laptop? Read on or listen to the podcast episode below. Q: How teaching has changed for you since the start of the pandemic? A: Teaching has done a complete 180 for me since the start of the pandemic. We went virtual in March last year using Schoology as our LMS. I created lessons and practice activities teaching 6th grade math. This year, I signed up to be a 100% virtual teacher using a pre-made curriculum on the platform that came with the curriculum, and I am teaching 6th grade social studies. It is extremely challenging because I have to do a lot of research before I create lessons because I have never taught social studies (my specialty is science and math), and we have a lot less interaction with students which I am not enjoying. I am a part of my district’s design team trying to plan out what the virtual school will look like next year, so hopefully a lot of those challenges will be fixed for next year. Q: There’s a lot of debate in the news and social media about students returning to school and the validity, if you will, of remote teaching (if remote teaching is “real teaching”). Describe for us a day in the life of a remote teacher and what goes into preparing for teaching online. A: Our school is running things a little differently since we have a pre-made curriculum, because we developed our virtual school in survival mode, so right now a day in my life starts with a morning meeting to do a social emotional lesson with my advisory class. Then, each teacher has office hours for 1 hour. Monday and Wednesday we host live lessons. I usually use something like Nearpod so students are interacting with the lesson and it is not just a PowerPoint presentation. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we answer questions and help students with their assignments. Before and after office hours I am usually planning lessons or in meetings like curriculum meetings, IEP meetings, or meeting with my team members. I also usually have Go Guardian up so students can message me if they have questions. I also reach out to students to do 1-on-1 check-ins. I also spend a lot of time reaching out to parents of struggling students to try to get them back on track. I spend so much time on my email and my phone contacting people. I notice even with virtual teaching, I tend to be juggling many things at one time. I think a student can absolutely have a quality education online. I think teachers are struggling right now because you have to relearn how to teach. But now that we have some practice and I am sure everyone has gotten professional development and practice I think teachers are much more prepared now and doing a great job. I love teaching online and cannot wait to see how our district's virtual school will change and improve in the coming years. Q: Teaching was physically and emotionally demanding in a pre-pandemic classroom. How has the level or type of fatigue changed for you as a remote teacher? A: I think I have the same level of fatigue as I did before the pandemic, but the nature of the fatigue has changed. At the beginning of virtual teaching, I felt extremely drained from staring at a screen for so long and constantly had headaches. This has subsided as my body has adjusted, but I was so surprised how physically drained I felt even though I only had a few hundred steps in a work day. The emotional fatigue is extremely noticeable. I always feel stressed about students who are struggling because it is so taxing worrying about their grades, their well-being, and their emotional state. Now I have those same worries, but I feel like I have so much less control because I cannot physically make them do their work like I can in person. I know I could never make someone work, but I could place the activity in front of them and hold them after class. The feeling of having no control and worrying like crazy over some of my students is something I have not felt before and something I was not expecting. Want more words of wisdom each week, delivered to your inbox? Make sure you're getting the Monday Message! It has definitely made me realize how many people do not give the impression that they care about their student’s education and that is so disheartening. At the same time, it is amazing to see how many students are actually thriving in this environment and go above and beyond. We are starting genius hour, and these kiddos are so excited to start working on their projects. Q: Whether we want to or not, many of us have to make remote or hybrid teaching work for the time being. What are some things that teachers can do to alleviate the exhaustion from sitting in front of a computer 24-7? A: What has helped me the most is creating a daily schedule for myself. So every day I grade at the same time, lesson plan at the same time, call parents at the same time. This structure is helpful because the day just all ran together before I started sticking to a schedule, and I would never know when to stop working. In your schedule, you need a stopping time as well where you do not check your email, you are done grading and lesson planning, you put work down. You need a boundary because it can be hard to separate your work like from your personal life especially if you are working from home. Next, I would schedule a time where you are going to do some exercise to get moving. That was one huge difference between teaching in person and online is I just don't move as much so taking 20 minutes to stretch, do yoga, or I got a cheap elliptical for my house, just something to give yourself a break from the computer. Also, it is important to schedule a specific lunch time where you will not meet with people. When I first started working, I would always put my students first. If they wanted a meeting now, they got a meeting now. It got to the point where I would not eat lunch until 3:30 when our day was over. So now I protect my lunch time. I will not meet with students, I will take that half an hour to take a break and eat. It is great for you physically because you function much better when you have that sustenance, but it was also so helpful mentally because I allowed myself to step away and not feel guilty about it. Lastly, find ways throughout the day to communicate with people. I work from home and it is just me and my cat, so it can get really lonely. I find when I am able to do a phone call or video call with a friend of my family it just gives me energy to keep working. I love calling my sister during lunch and watching my nephew on a video call. When you are working in person you are constantly bombarded with people, so those little moments where you can get some communication with the outside world can do wonders on your mental health. Q: Sometimes, it comes down to changing how we do things - working smarter not harder so to say - to get through an experience and establish a healthier way of working in general. What are some strategies teachers can use to streamline their teaching experience so they can get some reprieve from online fatigue? A: There are a lot of ways we can work smarter rather than harder. One way I mentioned before is just having and sticking to a schedule so you do not get wrapped up in one thing and forget about your needs. To help streamline calling parents, my team always documents when we call parents so we are able to share that workload. I know a common problem I have is when parents will not pick up the phone. What I have found helpful, and this may not be something that everyone is comfortable with, but I feel comfortable texting parents using a Google Voice account so it is not my actual number. I have been calling parents and leaving a message, but I will follow up with a text that says I don’t know if you got my message, but here is what’s going on if texting is easier for you. A lot of parents respond to texts rather than phone calls or emails, so that has been helpful in just getting parents to respond. I have also found a great tip for responding to emails. There are a few emails that I send out regularly like if people miss our morning meeting, they have to fill out a google form so that will count as them being present for the day. I also send out weekly emails to students who are failing and copy their parents. On Gmail, you can make email templates so you do not have to keep typing the same thing or even copying and pasting. Using templates has actually decreased my stress levels. Whenever I went to send the same email over and over I got a sense of dread like I really don’t want to do this, but using templates has been such a life and time saver. It is a setting you have to turn on, but it is very easy and I have a video on my social media (you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @2teachwithtech) that shows you how to do it. When it comes to grading, I would say it is okay to not grade everything. You can send out an answer key and have students judge their own work. Another thing I have done is go over the answers in a live lesson and record the lesson and send it out to students. You could even make an assignment where they have to watch the video and complete a google form where they select if they had the right idea for the assignment, had some struggles, or were way off and if they still have questions after seeing the answers. This way you can still get a sense of where students are at with the content without having to grade. I know I have 140 students, so I try to limit what I have to grade to 1 or 2 activities a week because it just takes so long to go through them all. I would also make use of things that can be self graded. I know a lot of people use Google classroom, so if you do, make sure you are creating quizzes in Google forms from the Google classroom platform. When you create them in Google classroom the grades will automatically upload to your gradebook which saves you the step of entering in grades for each student. Q: Even if you don’t contract COVID, your physical and mental health is impacted by the isolation and limited mobility this school year. How can teachers keep moving and stay connected to each other to combat the drain of teaching online? A: I would say similar to how to alleviate online fatigue it is important to schedule breaks where you can get up and move or exercise, or do this before or after school. If you are like me and struggle with accountability, find an accountability partner. I have a coworker who is my accountability partner, so we talk every Tuesday and Thursday and tell each other what exercises we did that day. We get up and work out before our online school starts. Having an accountability partner also helps you stay connected with other people outside your home. Another way to stay connected with your coworkers is to have virtual happy hours or some way to have fun. Just try to make some time to communicate in fun ways so that you are not just talking about work all the time and are able to laugh together. I listened to a presentation one time by Jack Burkemeyer, and he emphasized the importance of laughter. I cannot remember the specific number but he said something like if you do not laugh at least 9 times a day you are doing your job wrong. That is something I have noticed is I do not find myself laughing as much teaching online, so making opportunities to just hang out with students or coworkers and just laugh is great for your mental health. I also think if you are struggling with mental health, now is the perfect time to try to see a therapist. A lot of them are able to meet virtually or do phone call sessions if you do not want to go in person. Q: It’s important to note that it’s not just teachers feeling the online fatigue this year; our students are also spending much more time than ever before learning in front of a screen. What are some ways teachers can structure their class time or instruction to help students beat online fatigue? A: The first suggestion I have is to make online interactions engaging. I actually have an entire podcast episode about engaging students online if you want a lot of specific ideas. The main takeaways I have are to make sure when you are doing a lesson, get students involved. I like to start lessons off with a virtual ice breaker. My favorite right now is doing 4 corners with Jamboard. I will ask a question with 4 different options, and students move a sticky note with their name to the corner for their response. Nearpod is a great tool to do this because you can embed quiz or poll questions, collaboration boards for students to write their ideas, there are 3D virtual tour options, lots of ways for students to be active in their learning. I also like to use breakout rooms for student discussions, but I have noticed students are very hesitant to talk, so I always use something where they can communicate in other ways as well. I like setting up a Jamboard so each group has their own slide where they can record their ideas to a question. This is also nice because I can go through the slides and see where groups need a little prompting. A great way to help students with motivation on activities where they are working asynchronously is having menu choice boards so they can have more ownership of their learning and complete tasks that are engaging to them. Another way to help students is to allow time for play. Students are at home and experiencing the isolation just like we are, so having opportunities for them to just talk and play games with each other is so important for their mental health. This is an area my teaching team has actually improved so much on. We have started doing monthly reward days where students can pick an activity they want to do. We have played Among Us in breakout rooms on google meet, we have watched a movie together and socialized during the movie on a google meet, we have done crafts together, and the kids really love having that opportunity. We also started a reward system using Class Dojo so students can earn Dojo points for things like doing their work, attending live lessons, having their camera on, and things like that. Then we created a Google form that lists different rewards they can use their points for. They range in ideas like positive notecards home, having a google meet lunch or game session with two friends, an assignment pass, so they can miss an assignment, and we even have teacher taste test because they have a weird obsession with wanting to see us miserable and the one that is the most points is we will send them a pizza. This has been great for morale and it has gotten a lot of students to turn their camera on so it feels more like a class. Actually seeing student faces makes a huge difference. Q: While the end is in sight, we don’t know for certain when or how our altered state of teaching is going to return to anything close to normal. Chances are, there are aspects of teaching online or using digital learning along with in-person that are here to stay. What are some things that need to be considered for the future, either on a school or district level, to help teachers use technology to reach their students and still take into account the physical and mental drain that comes from being in front of a screen? I think you bring up a great point. My district is actually continuing our virtual school for as long as people will sign up because we have found there are a lot of kids who learn better this way, or it is helpful if they have to help support their family and have a job while in school. I think it is important that teachers are getting continuing professional development on online tools and strategies because technology just changes so frequently. I made a podcast episode about Google Meet features and it is already out of date! I think it is also important that we hold students accountable for online work. Right now with everything going on it is important that we are giving students grace, but as this becomes more of a lifestyle than a survival method it will become necessary. Finally, I think it is necessary for schools to provide instruction about online safety and just how to use technology for school. I think most schools probably do some of this. I know we always have to do a day or two of online safety like don’t give out personal information online, but I think more structured instruction will be necessary as we continue. Students are great at figuring things out on their own with technology, but with how frequently things change and how heavily we are starting to rely on technology formal instruction would be helpful for everyone. To recap some the amazing pieces of advice from Megan: Create a daily schedule, including scheduling a time when you’ll get up and move and eat. Consider using templates for Google forms to streamline your communication with parents. Be intentional about the assignments you grade, and involve students in the assessment process. Allow time to connect with students online in an interactive and fun way, and let them know their efforts are appreciated. Megan provided some great advice for anyone who has found themselves teaching in front of a computer this year. Be sure to subscribe to her podcast "So You Want to Teach with Technology" and check out her resources on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @2teachwithtech. You can also watch her YouTube channel, listen to her podcast, or read her blog on her website here. Would you like a dose of encouragement and strategies before you step into your classroom each week? Sign up for the Monday Message here. Want more help with teaching in this topsy-turvy world right now? Download my free ebook, The Thrive Guide, below!

Sooner or later, it’s bound to happen. That email. The note handed to you first thing in the morning. An unexpected phone call - or meeting. Keeping parents informed about their children’s progress and behavior is a given part of the job, but addressing the hard moments when things aren’t going well has a steep learning curve. How can you improve parent teacher communication? Read on or listen to the podcast episode below. Communicating to parents or caregivers as a teacher is as certain as the sky is blue. The problem often lies with how to respond when things go wrong. Or...when the person on the other end of the screen, paper, or phone line is angry with you. Or...when you need to be professional, but the same person asking you for help is bashing you or the teaching profession in general on Facebook. Let's acknowledge some things first. We are all under the stress of constant change and disruption to our normal - in addition to the expected snags of misbehavior, missing work, concerns that come from being the teacher to kids. Our students having to learn away from school has disrupted the home environment - that’s a fact; it’s changed the flow of routine and revealed some great inequalities in education. And many families were not and may not still be equipped to have their child learning optimally from home 24-7. NO ONE said this situation brought on by the pandemic and remote learning was ideal - but many of the changes that have caused inconvenience to families have not been done to harm but as a means of survival. Learn optimally or live optimally - that is the question, and I know it has lead to heated debate and callousness on the value of someone’s life, even if they are deemed “essential.” It’s been demoralizing to have to defend the stance that staying alive shouldn’t come second fiddle to a safe teaching and learning environment - and many of those accusations from the community may very well be coming from parents. I understand the intensity of the situation - and that it hasn’t made communication any easier. You’ve have to adapt the way you’ve had to relay information to families this year - whether it’s by email, tutorials, or phone calls from your personal device (which I am vehemently against because of my boundaries). More than ever before, your personal time has been consumed by communicating to parents about how students are doing and what they need to do in order to be successful in this learning environment. No matter your intentions or how thorough you are, someone is bound to get upset or confused about something you’ve said/not said, done/not done. And the stress of this entire situation often comes roaring through in a negative, hurtful diatribe that you get to intercept. As a teacher, you’re on the receiving end of a parent’s anger more times than you want to admit. The stress and overwhelm from both sides this year just worsens the distress on the parents’ end and leaves you as the teacher more vulnerable. I get it. You’re doing everything you can and probably way more than you should be doing at this point. That sick feeling you get when you see one more email, one more note, or hear that voice once again really wears your heart and soul out and can deflate any ounce of joy teaching gives you. All it takes is one more hurt than you can handle to make you feel like it's not worth it. I’ve been there, even as an art teacher. We’re going to dive into parent-teacher communication and how you can do this in a way that preserves your peace of mind while still being effective. There are no catchy acronyms this time around, just me being practical and brass tacks about what I’ve come to find helpful over the past 18 years. As teachers, we know how to communicate - probably better than many other professions! We do it all day long in many different formats. So I’m on your side, remember that as I get going here. But there are some hard truths we need to look at when it comes to communicating with parents so that we can have boundaries and our sanity in tact at the end of the year. Here’s the most pivotal truth about parent teacher communication. Too often, you’re giving away your power. Your peace of mind - whether it’s correcting student behavior or addressing missing assignments - depends on your response. Your reaction. The problem is our responses are steeped in emotion, because teaching is emotional. It’s a part of our identity, although it shouldn’t be your entire identity, mind you. A professor I had at WVU once said that the two driving forces behind a parent’s anger are fear and love. That child is the best they’ve got. So anything that goes wrong with or for said child triggers a tidal wave of emotion for them. With the dependence on virtual communication, the height and brazenness of the messages we receive has also gotten even more stinging, because people are much braver behind a screen. And who’s in the line of fire when that tidal wave lets loose? Oh it’s you, make no mistake. I’ve had a student or two (actually more) in my time where, at the beginning of the year, I was warned repeatedly that this child’s parents were going to be extremely difficult to deal with. I prefer to give everyone a clean slate in a new year, new classroom dynamic, but these conversations happen. I’m not saying that some of those warnings didn’t turn out to be spot on, because clean slate or not, past is prologue. But even when I was up to my eyeballs in my own martyr mentality, I’d be waiting for things to go south with a parent, even when I had to address something with the child - and it never happened. At least to the extent I was told about. So I don’t have all the answers, but I must have some wisdom about this topic. Want more words of wisdom delivered to your inbox? Make sure you're getting the Monday Message! I’m going to use a swimming pool analogy. So picture this - someone’s in distress in the deep end of a pool. Their arms are flailing, they may have been in the deep end before or a decent swimmer but for whatever reason they are in need of help. So what’s your reaction? We want to put an end to the distress, we don’t want to them to drown, so we jump in. We know how to swim, we can get them to safety and help them out. But what happens when we get to them flailing around in the pool? They grab hold! You’re there to help and they’re in a panic. And suddenly, you are too! Because you’re in rescue mode now, and you’ve got to pull them and you through the water. In fact, they may very well make you feel like you’re the one drowning before it’s over with, because their weight and their distress is bearing down on you as you creep ever so slowly it seems to the edge of the pool. Because you’re a strong swimmer, you get everyone to safety - but at what cost? The person is saved, but you sure are worn out because of how much energy you put into that rescue attempt. It’s the same thing with communicating to parents. Teaching’s part of your identity, and when they express displeasure, you go into fix it mode or ride the defense because it feels like an attack on you personally. Either you want to make things all better ASAP to put out the fire or you’re ready to make your case. That’s jumping in the pool. A lot of that reaction comes from listening (or reading) to reply instead of listening (or reading) to understand. When you feel you are constantly under attack from the onslaught of changes and the undercurrent of nasty comments about the teaching profession in general on Facebook, that’s an understandable reaction, because you’re just sick of it and rightly so. But that jumping in the pool to save people and circumstances? Yeah, it’s effective and you’ll get a resolution, but it’s wearing you out. And this year especially you don’t have energy to spare! What’s another way to save a drowning person instead of jumping in the deep end yourself? You’ve got to throw them a lifeline. A flotation device. A raft. A floaty, whatever you need for visualization. Something they can grab onto, and with some guidance, swim to safety. It solves the problem at hand and keeps you physically and emotionally in tact. How does this apply to communicating with parents? Everything. Because things are going to happen, tempers are going to flare. Feelings are going to get hurt. That’s what happens when we interact with each other as adults, just like it happens to the kids. But how something makes you feel can’t dictate your response. That’s why instead of jumping in with your own emotions, you’ve got to throw out a lifeline. This preserves your authority in the classroom and your peace of mind. It also sets the precedent for how you’ll react and respond for future matters, which will often impact how they approach you in the future. Okay, so how do you go about this? Well, first of all, which I have stated in several posts before, is your boundaries. I wouldn’t say it so much if it weren’t so very important. As teachers, we feel these kids are our kids, but even parents get a break from their own children when they are in school all day. You are not a 24-hour, on-call consultation service, distance learning or in-person. And if you are living that right now and it’s working for you, I feel confident in saying that it’s not sustainable and not fair to your family, even if your family when you go home in the afternoon is just your dog. You need boundaries for when, where and how you will communicate to parents. Ask yourself these 3 questions: 1. When will I read or respond to messages? This is big. There needs to be a start and end time to access to you, even during remote teaching. It also helps you not dwell on that email or that person if you aren’t looking at your inbox constantly. Putting that distance between responding to emails also helps you think more clearly. It helps you respond rather that react if the what’s staring at you on the screen has you feeling all the things. You’ll have fewer regrets and won’t agree to something that turns out to cause more hassle for you and is not sustainable in the long run. If you read an email that a response to would take more time than you have to properly address, flag it for later. When you respond can come right down the minute. When I had to make a phone call to a parent during my planning or lunch, I would always do it towards the end of the period. Maybe it would be with 10 minutes to spare or 15, 20, depending on the issue. The thing is I would give myself time to plan, or eat first, then make the call. This not only assured I could use my time well, but gave me a way to close the conversation. I could keep my message concise on my end because I knew I needed to go pick up my students from specials or lunch - and I also shared that with the parent, that I had x amount of time before I would need to go get my class. You may think that is sneaky or in poor taste, but you know what? I never had an issue where it kept me from reaching a consensus with the parent, and it was never viewed as disrespectful on my end - in fact I think it cultivated some respect because it showed I wasn’t infinitely available, I had to get back to the rest of the class, like a reality check. 2. Where am I willing to engage in school communication - not just location, but on what devices? I don’t have my school email on my phone. Sure, I could look it up on the web browser and log in if needed, but I don’t want constant updates about what’s coming in my inbox. That’s also my personal device that I paid for and I have the right to not use it for work. I check my email on my school devices only - and only during school hours and once on Sunday evenings. Also, I know your current teaching circumstances may require you to contact parents via phone when you have no other option but to be away from school. I still would suggest using a Google phone number to protect your privacy. I'm no longer a homeroom teacher, but in 18 years I have always drawn the line at giving parents my personal phone number to protect myself. 3. How will I communicate information regarding missing assignments, behavior, or concerns (which form of communication would be best)? This can also come down to you deciding what is the best method for you to use to communicate through. There are so many ways now to connect to families via apps or online - Class Dojo, Remind, Schoology to name a few. There are so many that it’s really become oversaturated and much more complicated than it needs to be. I have come to prefer email over everything because it feels the most professional and it creates a paper trail that is easy to produce if needed. I have found things like Class Dojo great for sending mass messages out about field trips or updates on classroom events, but I don’t care to discuss major issues on them because the text message vibe of those apps seems to make it too easy for the other party to either over contact me or to be too causal towards me for my liking. And along with that comes a combination of #1 and #3: communicating to parents on social media. Don’t. I have friended parents of students in my class that I developed a friendship or a strong rapport with AFTER their child or children were no longer in my classroom. That is very few people though. While their child was in my classroom, I did not. Going back and forth about a classroom issue on Facebook is the equivalent to going down into a snake pit. I’m not speaking from personal experience here, but I can say with certainty I am correct on this one. It's not something that will make your social media feed W.E.L.L. instead of S.I.C.K. So, that’s the foundation for how you’re going to communicate. Now, how do you communicate in a way that addresses the issues? Create a playlist. Not a musical one, but there are certain issues that we know come up during the year - especially with all the technology that’s been added, there are questions or troubleshooting to be had. There are certain rules or procedures in your classroom that you have to reiterate throughout the year as well. Write - type rather - those things out in a format that you would use in an email. I know, you probably told them in a newsletter or welcome back-to- school slide show at the beginning of the year but A LOT has happened since then. You may even consider putting an FAQ section on your classroom website or class page that you could refer parents to when needed, or at least reference in your response. Why do this? It helps you when you need to address a concern that is easy to answer but still requires your time and energy to create a response. You may not be able to perfectly copy and paste every time, but it can give you the framework so you aren’t always stating from scratch. It also helps you stay diplomatic. This is how you do things in your classroom. These are the steps. These are the consequences. Instead of jumping in the emotional deep end, you can refer to your playlist and hand them a life preserver. Back to that listening to respond instead of listening to understand. When you are taking it in - be it a phone call or an email - think of it as collecting information. You’re not on a mission to defend yourself or to make it all better. Take the heat out of it by viewing all parent communication as collecting information - so you can respond effectively. There are three questions you need to address within all your communication and responses to parents in order to be effective: 1. What do you want them to know? This goes back to the playlist. I find this works well, especially when an assignment or procedure is under fire. It keeps you from defaulting to responding emotionally to attacks about your teaching or classroom. Being able to start with “The purpose of this assignment is…” or “I have to do this because…” keeps things professional and matter-of-fact. Tie everything back to student learning - be it behavior, class work, attendance, especially if you are initiating the communication. This also disarms or disengages parents that are upset because it reframes the issue - kind of like defusing a bomb. 2. How do you want them to feel? Sometimes we want to "stick it to ‘em" because we think they’re in the wrong, but do you really want to incite more anger? What does that solve? Remember, there is a human being on the other end of that screen or phone(even if they seem to have forgotten them same for you). Just like you, they are on their own path. And - something that I’ve come to terms with that I must account for - you have to consider their own maturity. As the tables have turned throughout my career and I am the older, wiser party in the communication, I have to account that someone that has not had the life experiences that I have had yet is going to handle themselves differently. When you’re a teacher, you’re not just teaching the kids, you teach the adults as well, and your interaction with them is a chance to teach them how you want to be treated by modeling it. 3. What do you want them or their child to do? Always end your response with putting it back on them, being clear about what the student needs to do to be successful and/or how the parent can assist in the matter. Be extremely clear about this, down to starting with “I need so-and-so to” or “I need you to.” Also state clearly what you are going to do and approximately by when. This is important for that paper trail, if needed, and also to help you before you hit send see in black and white you are agreeing to. Chances are you have already done everything humanly possible in the hours you are allotted each day. Be careful in what you agree to in order to remedy the issue. You don’t want to create a future problem by agreeing to do something that ends up being unsustainable with everything else going on. And it’s okay and wise of you to say that you don’t think you are going to be able to do something because of the number of other students who require your attention or the other demands you have. Remember SET from my post on goals - is it Sustainable; how it uses your Energy; does it make good use of your Time? We’re in an age of instant gratification, where we wanted the answers yesterday. But all a quick back-and-forth guarantees is that something could very well come across the wrong way or just drag out longer than if you would have stopped and just collected information. That’s why it helps to flag emails until you are ready to address them with your full attention. And now, three truths - I think of these as the “hot coals” - to keep in mind for communicating with parents this year and in the future: 1. Many parents are having their eyes opened this year to how their child actually works and behaves during the school day with remote learning. It’s one thing to hear about how your kid’s day was and another to see it all unfold at night after you worked all day - especially when it comes down to completing independent work. Denial is human, as is placing blame. It’s a knee jerk reaction. (It’s why I want you to take the emotion out of your response). Remember, when we’re drowning, we’re looking for something to grab onto. So the social media soundbites of “remote learning is failing” or “it has to be the teacher’s fault” are the quick grabs. It’s hurtful, I know, it’s downright demoralizing. But understanding where the frustration is coming from helps it have less personal impact on you. 2. Disrespect is unacceptable - on either end. It shouldn’t be tolerated or be used to make the other party bend. Remember, you teach more than kids. All caps, personal attacks, threats, general rudeness - none of it moves the needle towards resolution. Keep a paper trail, the email threads, and/or a communication log to show your interactions. You can’t control what other people are going to say and do, but you can do your part - because you know better. I'm telling you better. 3. Sometimes, we do mess up. Not maliciously. We’re overextended, this year in an abnormal capacity (not that it was normal before). Mistakes are bound to happen, and it doesn’t make you a bad teacher. The best thing to do is to own it. Apologize (don’t grovel for forgiveness and say sorry on repeat, just be matter-of -fact about it). Making mistakes is human. You aren’t less of a person or teacher because of it. To review, you can improve your parent teacher communication by setting boundaries regarding the when, where, and how you interact about school matters. Listen or read to understand and collect information so you respond effectively. Think about what you want parents to know, feel, and do. Remember, this year has disrupted everyone’s lives. You can be kind, firm, and graceful in your communications with parents - without jumping in the deep end of the pool. Would you like a dose of encouragement and strategies before you step into your classroom each week? Sign up for the Monday Message here. Want more help with teaching in this topsy-turvy world right now? Download my free ebook, The Thrive Guide, below!

I'll admit it - I found it traumatizing, just watching it on TV. The events that transpired at our nation’s Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, not only revealed how fractured we are as a nation - they were confirmation we are still on an unpredictable roller coster ride in education and beyond. It’s clear that 2021 is going to have its own share of unsettling events that take us by surprise and turn our lives upside down. This clearly has an impact on us as teachers, but even more so on our students as they grow and make sense of the world around them. You can listen to this blog post as a podcast episode here or using the player below. Like many of you, I watched the riots at the nation’s Capitol unfold as Congress met to certify the 2020 presidential election. While I was horrified at the carnage that transpired and fearful for those whose lives were in danger, I can’t say that I was surprised at the unrest and upheaval - once again. The rhetoric, emotions, and misinformation leading up to confirming the electoral college votes certainly foreshadowed some kind of clash - but I wasn’t - and perhaps neither were you - expecting the magnitude of destruction and violence. Maybe I believed it could happen but hoped it wouldn’t get to that point. I live 90 minutes from D.C., and many people in my community either commute into the District for work or are originally from the metro area. So whether it’s breeching the U.S. Capitol, the Black Lives Matter protests, or any other major event in that vicinity, it feels likes it happening in my backyard. I’ve always considered it a privilege to live so close to the seat of our nation’s government and to have had the opportunity to see many of the historic buildings and monuments there that many wait a lifetime to see. The anticipated threats and violence expected on inauguration suddenly make it feel too close. That’s how I’m processing the events of January 6th as I continue to learn and see more of what went down. And I have to think, how is a child, who’s learning right from wrong, whose brain and body is developing, supposed to process not only this, but everything that has happened since last March? And honestly, for many children, the trauma goes deeper than COVID, Black Lives matter, or political unrest. It’s not knowing where the next meal is going to come from, or if there will be any one at home to take care of them, or even worse, hoping someone doesn’t come home to hurt them. It’s a recent topic in my Monday Message, an email I send out weekly with encouragement and strategies for the week ahead. You can join here. This next chapter of life in the classroom requires teachers to change our mindset, but it’s going to also mean we prioritize the needs of our students differently. Because we, with our rational adult brains, fully actualized, are affected by the insanity of this year, but we’re wired to respond and recover from this. A child physically and psychologically growing and processing this unrest in this world right now - that’s a different story. Their ability to make sense of the trauma - which is the impact of distressing, dangerous events - requires a greater level of concern and care. It makes our job as teachers that more important. Not because we need to go into recovery mode when we get back to a traditional classroom environment and need to catch up on all the standards and materials that have been missed. No. As I said in a blog for NNSTOY back in October, the data doesn’t matter and I stand by that. It’s because we’re going to need to reconnect as people. As a classroom community. And that will entail addressing a great deal of the trauma that has been witnessed over the past year through trauma sensitive classroom strategies. I’m going to share 5 ways - the 5 As if you will - to creating a trauma sensitive classroom environment starting today, even if the only contact you have with your class right now is thru distance learning. Along with this I’m going to share some neuroscience to back up why these over arching practices will help with addressing trauma in the classroom. 1. The first step is to ask your students if they have things they want to discuss regarding the unrest in the world right now, and letting them ask questions in return. Ignoring what happened won’t make it go away. Chances are that they have seen events on the news or on social media that may have scared them, angered, or confused them. Let them ask questions if needed. Set the norms for how questions and discussions can be held respectfully. We need to stay connected on a personal level to process how the events of the world affect us. We also need to acknowledge each others’s feelings and de-stigmatize being afraid as part of our trauma informed practice - and that’s especially true for boys, who are often made to feel like they shouldn’t cry or be scared. While I don’t condone teachers sharing political viewpoints with students, we can, in a matter of fact way, discuss what happened, why it happened, and the potential consequences of those actions. The depth you go into will vary greatly based on the age of your students. The important thing is that we seek to understand. Let them know it’s okay to be concerned about the future and their feelings are valid. Let’s talk about the brain for a moment. The amygdala region is about the size of your thumb, located between your ears. It processes emotions and detects fear. When you’ve been exposed to something traumatic, it becomes hyperactive, and it becomes harder to relax and concentrate. So if that’s true for an adult, can you imagine how difficult it is for a child to “turn off” fear mode? They can’t. It’s even harder to unsee what’s happened for them. So if they’re turning to you with questions, if they feel the need to seek answers for the why or how of what’s going on, it’s important to make room for that to address trauma in the classroom. Their brains need it to relax and to understand. 2. Another trauma sensitivity strategy is to assure students of their safety and well being. It’s your classroom (I know, it’s your students’ classroom too, even in a Teams meeting) but you are the teacher and you set the tone. Even online, your presence can give students’ peace of mind. Along with asking questions comes giving the reassurance to your students that they are safe and loved with you - and that you are a safe person they can communicate to in times of distress. That’s ultimately why it’s so important teachers to set boundaries and take care of themselves - our job is too important to not be fulfilled and healthy on our end so we can confidently and whole heartedly address the needs of our kids. You can also reassure them of the procedures and likelihood of events happening that may be causing anxiety, and what is in place to protect them. I don’t mean that we sugar coat what’s going on or say that everything is fine (because it certainly isn’t), but you can diplomatically remind them of the things that are in place to keep them safe and to keep the country running properly. Back to the brain for a moment - the hippocampus is connected to the amygdala, in the shape of a “C”. It stores our memories and helps us discern past and present events. When you’ve experienced trauma and the amygdala is over firing, the hippocampus has a harder time telling the difference between the past event and the present, even if the danger has passed and you’re now safe. People that have experienced severely traumatic events even have have a smaller, lower volume hippocampus, which is often indicative of post traumatic stress disorder. So with that being said, it’s why assuring kids of their safety as a trauma classroom strategy and their ability to rely on you and their classroom community is so important. Their memories are rooted in the emotions they experience, and it’s even harder to separate from the past from the present. 3. The next step is to anticipate - think ahead and prepare for classroom interactions related to the traumatic event. You know your class dynamic. If there are topics or subjects you will be teaching about that may serve as triggers for student anxiety or heightened emotions, you can prepare for them and be ready to address the issues that arise. For example, as a former fifth grade teacher, a unit on the three branches of government, a lesson on the bill of rights, causes and effects of the Civil War…I could anticipate, based on my students needs, beliefs, experiences, and what is going on in the world right now, what I would need to be prepared for so we could have an emotionally safe learning environment for all in the class. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t teach those things, you absolutely should. But you, especially by the second semester, have a better understanding of your students as individuals at this point - even through a computer screen - and what could lead to heightened emotions or cause conflict. Part of trauma sensitivity is thinking ahead and using what you know about your students to prepare for the conversations that may take place and the feelings that will arise. 4. Another way to create a trauma sensitive environment is to adjust your plans when the need arises to discuss events that have impacted your students. If there’s anything we have perfected this school year, its’ this one, because we have sure had to be flexible. There may be times when students need to talk about what’s happening in the world or their feelings, or a lesson leads to a conversation about a bigger topic or big feelings that they are having about the world. Let them have those conversations. The unplanned teachable moments may do more to address the impact of trauma more than any planned social emotional learning. Taking class time to focus on feelings or questions isn’t a waste of time or being too soft… Because - one more neuroscience moment for you - of the prefrontal cortex. This regulates emotions and reacts to the amygdala - if the amygdala is your thumb, then your four other fingers closing over it is the equivalent to the prefrontal cortex. This is where the executive function happens - decision making, paying attention, making behavior choices based on consequences, impulse control - I can almost see you nodding your heads as I’m sure these are all issues you have to address with your students in the classroom! (Me too.) But in the presence of trauma, it’s harder for the prefrontal cortex to make rational decisions. To think things through. To process the things that they “should know how to do at this age or grade.” Reconnecting and developing the “muscle” of the prefrontal cortex takes time. It’s not going to heal with benchmark assessments or computer programs promising to catch kids up on missed skills. It’s going to require adjustment of our expectations and and redirecting our focus from an academic, instructional viewpoint. 5. Which leads to the last strategy, which is to accept the impact of the traumatic events on our lives and students. This doesn’t mean accept wrongdoing or to normalize intolerance or violence. Quite the opposite. Many of us - myself included - greatly awaited the clock striking midnight on December 31, 2020, because we wanted to put the events of that year behind us - and rightly so. The truth is, the beginning and possibly a great portion of 2021 will be a continuation of the crisis that began last year. The pain and problems won’t go away overnight, nor should they. Some of the issues that have presented themselves boldly this year, such as intolerance and social injustice, have been neglected for ages, and rebuilding trust and stability in our country will take time. Healing is needed. It’s also important to note that, yes, our students may very well have learning gaps and not be where we would expect them to be emotionally or academically for years to come. They shouldn’t feel bad about that, or worried that they aren’t “good enough” or wrong for the things they don’t know and didn’t get a chance to learn. Projecting the mindset that we are in recovery mode to our students is important to their progress as well. It’s easy to feel defeated when setting goals and what you are looking forward to in the future doesn’t pan out, something I talked about in episode 5 with setting goals and boundaries for the new year. Accepting the brokenness and time it will take to repair the damage is a trauma sensitive classroom practice that creates an environment where students feel accepted and receptive to the work ahead. To recap, here are five ways to create a trauma sensitive classroom environment in these uncertain times: 1. Allow students to ask questions. 2. Assure them of their safety and your presence. 3. Anticipate reactions to content or sensitive topics. 4. Adjust your schedule as needed when the need to focus on processing feelings and current events arises. 5. Accept that recovery from all that has transpired this year will take time - and set the tone for your students that that’s okay. Together, we’re going to make it. Giving ourselves the room to grow and heal will get us there in time. Would you like a weekly dose of encouragement and teaching strategies? Subscribe to the Monday Message here. Are you a new teacher who could use some guidance on how to weather the rest of this unprecedented year? Get my free ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times below!

To listen to the podcast episode on this topic, click here. Every good plan starts with a strategy. In a previous post, I discussed the importance of strategizing to survive the disillusionment stage of teaching. But how exactly do you strategize, going into a new year that has more questions than answers? We’re going to look at how to set goals and boundaries so you can maintain them in the year ahead. We’ve all made New Year’s Resolutions to start out the year - and ended up not seeing them through. This is more than making resolutions though. It’s a way to think about how things are going - with teaching and life - and taking action to make improvements. To help you organize your thoughts, I’ve created a workbook that you can download here. I would recommend using it to help you plan your goals and to refer to it throughout the year. Let’s get started with the 5 steps of strategizing. Step 1: break the upcoming year into quarters. I’m not a fan of equating business practices with education, but there are some things we can use that do make sense. In business, sales and goals periods are often broken into quarters. Quarter 1 is January to the end of March, Quarter 2 is April to the end of June, Quarter 3 is July to the end of September, and Quarter 4 is October to the end of December. It’s important to think of the upcoming year in quarters - three months at a time - because we have learned how unpredictable things can be with the Covid-19 pandemic, and how long range plans can quickly get altered or go down the drain. We’re still in a state of flux with this crisis, and the winter months are going to have a lot of challenges with illness, school openings or closings, distance learning - basically everything we’ve been dealing with will be continued into the start of the year. Looking just three months ahead gets us through the winter and allows you to set manageable changes that you can see through. Having success with the goals and boundaries you set is important, and a three-month chunk of time as opposed to a 12 month or 6 month will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Step 2: S.E.T. yourself up for success. S.E.T. is an acronym you can use to test the goals you wish to set and the changes you want to make in the next quarter of the year. It's also a great tool to use when setting boundaries and deciding if you need to say "no." It's also a topic I talk about in my free ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, which you can download here. To use S.E.T. when choosing goals, ask yourself these questions: S - Is the goal or change I want to make sustainable? Will you be able to continue to do this consistently? Making adjustments and having to start over when creating new habits is expected, but something you won't be able to maintain over time will leave you feeling defeated. You can start small and be flexible with something that you feel will be difficult to sustain at first (like being finished with work by a certain time each day) and work up to in another quarter the ideal. E - How does this goal or change use my energy? Ultimately, the changes we make through strategizing should make us feel less depleted. We’re not trying to fill up an already full plate. The goal is to simplify and streamline certain tasks so you have "juice" to pursue things that allow you to be happy and healthy. Some things like exercising and eating better are energy givers! Other energy givers may be spending time with you kids or making time for a hobby. Trying to outdo or overextend yourself even more with school work - that’s an energy drainer. T - Will this goal or change make good use of my time? There are two ways to look at this. Will this goal or change give you more time? If not, will it improve your well-being or that of your family? For example, doing yoga 20-30 minutes a day takes time out of my day, but it helps me focus and set intentions, so that is a goal that makes good use of my time! So that is S.E.T. - sustainable, energy, time. Step 3: Complete the quadrants for Home/Health/School/Self. If you have the workbook downloaded, you’ll see this is simply a chart divided into 4 sections, one each for home (which includes family), health, school, and self (which encompasses any personal goals you have). This is a chance to brain dump about the goals, boundaries, and changes you desire for any of those 4 aspects of life. And it’s important that you look at all 4, because all 4 matter and impact each other. You can write as many ideas as you want, but apply S.E.T. to each idea. Is this goal sustainable and does it make good use of your energy and time? If you can write S.E.T. out from it, circle it! Step 4: Choose your focus. Choose 1-2 goals from each quadrant (home, health, school, self) to focus on this quarter. Have no more than 5 you plan to focus on (you can always make changes or add goals each quarter). You’re aiming for one goal for each quadrant, with possibly 2 from the same one. Make sure these are goals you can S.E.T. and ones that will give you the most relief. Now, some of you may be thinking that your school goals are more urgent than anything right now and that is where you are under the most duress, or maybe it’s home, or any of the four seems to outweigh the other. I get it, but all four of these areas bleed into each other. We’ve got to get out of our "teacher tunnel" and view ourselves as complete human beings that need to focus on other areas of life beside school. Also, when you use the sentence stems in the workbook, you will see that by setting a goal in one area of your life, you often indirectly set an invisible goal in another. It’s opportunity cost, to use another business term in this episode - to give up one thing to get something else. If you don’t have the workbook in front of you, let me explain the sentence stems. This is where you refine your focus and choose your 5 goals by basically plugging them into fill in the blank statements. They read like this: Here’s an example of how this would sound filled out: Doing three hours of grading each night makes me feel exhausted and angry. My plan is to make Tuesday and Thursday my grading days so I am able to have the rest of my evenings to eat dinner with my family and workout. I may have to stop expecting all of my assignments to be graded for the next day. It will be worth it, because if nothing changes, my family life and health will continue to suffer. These statements not only help you define your new goals and boundaries, but let you see the benefits of working toward them and what will happen if you continue to let things spiral downward. Step 5: Review, Remind, Reflect. Carrying through our plans and goals is the hardest part. It's easy to plan things during a break, only to have our good intentions swept away when school resumes. You can use Review, Remind, Reflect throughout each quarter to keep you on track. It doesn’t involve any journaling, because that would adding one more thing to your plate. This is a way of thinking about your progress. Review Keep the completed sentence stems from Step 4 with your goals where you can see them each morning. You may choose to rewrite them in a planner or on a notecard where you can view them during the day. Remind Everyone messes up when making or breaking habits. It isn't always comfortable making changes, especially when you’re making changes other people may not like because they expect you to keep doing what you’ve always done. Remind yourself why you made this goal and how it adds value to your life. Reflect Throughout each quarter, reflect on your progress. It can be each morning, week, or whenever you have a moment to yourself. Make adjustments using S.E.T. if needed. If you are maintaining your goals, reflect on how your home, health, school, and self is improving. Be proud for choosing to take action and control over your life. It’s better than the alternative of feeling stressed and hopeless. Whatever you do, don’t give up. You’re not just strategizing how you’ll get through this year; you’re developing a new way of thinking about dealing with life’s challenges. To recap how to strategize: Step 1: Break the Upcoming Year into Quarters. Step 2: S.E.T. Yourself up for Success. Step 3: Complete the Quadrants for Home/Health/School/Self. Step 4: Choose your focus by using the sentence stems. Step 5: Review, Remind, Reflect. Whatever this new year and next semester of school brings, you deserve a life that brings you peace and purpose. Now you have the tools to create it. Would you like to start your week with encouragement and strategies? Click here to sign up for the Monday Message!

Writing a grant for your classroom or school can be a rewarding process, especially when your grant gets funded and you are able to put your ideas into action. Even if you’ve followed the directions, written strategically, and planned your budget, there are still a few more things that will help your grant idea become a reality for you and your students. I’m wrapping up my four-part series on How to Write Grants with three more tips on how to see your funded project through to completion. 10. Measure up. Even if it doesn’t ask for it, you should express in your grant application how you are going to monitor the success of the project you hope to have funded. How will you know if your students are successful and show progress as a result of this project? This shows your commitment to your project and its potential effectiveness. In the long run, observing for the effectiveness of your project will help you write future grants and utilize resources in your classroom. What specifically are the desired outcomes from this project? How will you know that your project was successful? State how you will know your goals have been met through your project. 11. Follow through. If you write a grant and get it funded, it’s your “baby.” You can’t pass the buck and expect someone else to complete it for you because you get busy or frustrated. When you are awarded funds, you are developing a business partnership. Commitment is key for being successful with any grant funded project. How you conduct yourself will influence if you or others receive funding in the future from this source. So order your materials, write thank you letters or emails (sending pictures of your grant in action is also a nice touch), complete the project, and send in the final report (if one is required). 12. If at first you don’t succeed…keep trying. Sometimes the path to having an idea funded is a long, winding road. It also takes time to develop your grant writing style and approach. Sometimes, it just comes down to too many people applying for too few funds. Take a look at what you wrote. There may be a better funding source for your grant, or maybe you need to revise how you presented your project. Learning how to write a grant proposal for education takes time, but it will be a skill you will use your entire teaching career. Everything gets better with time and practice – if you want it enough. Although there has never been a busier time in education, writing grants for your classroom - either to fund project for this year or next - is a way to look forward to better experiences in the future. Whether it’s requesting necessities for virtual instruction like headphones or a longstanding program to give students experiences they wouldn’t have otherwise, grants give you the power to create the classroom environment you envision for your students. Use the tips from the How to Write Grants series to help you get there.

You can listen to the podcast episode on disillusionment at this link. We've just finished the holiday season, a time of the year that often brings as much stress as it does joy. The holiday season also collides with the disillusionment phase of teaching. What is disillusionment? You may think at first this is the same as disappointment, which I talked about in this blog post. Disappointment is when things don’t go as planned. It happens all the time, to varying degrees. I share more about this in my free ebook The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, which you can download here. Disillusionment is a phase that we cycle through every year as teachers, especially in your first years of teaching. Before the school year begins, we’re in the anticipation phase, where we’re excited for a new year and a fresh start. As the school year begins and gets underway, we enter the survival stage, when reality starts to set in. The honeymoon with the kids ends and they start testing you, those new changes to the curriculum that didn’t seem to be that big a deal eat away at more time than expected, and the everyday classroom life of managing student behaviors and maintaining the teacher workload of grading, planning, and teaching are leaving you exhausted. I tend to tell myself each week in the survival stage it will get better, right? Enter the disillusionment phase, where the hopes of things becoming better regarding physical and emotional exhaustion just evaporate. Perhaps you’ve felt this year that the disillusionment phase started much earlier than it usually does with the amount of changes and work you’ve had to take on. It usually hits right around the holidays, when the newness of the school year is long gone, student attention is diverted to the excitement and festivities of the season, and nothing seems to be as you thought it would be back at the beginning of the school year. You’ve probably had your confidence and self-esteem dinged by at least one unhappy parent or administrator at this point, even though your intentions are good and you’re doing everything you can to hold your classroom and yourself together. Also, at this point you have probably had at least one illness that you’ve either taught through or had to take time off for, throwing off your routines and ability to be at your best. It’s a recipe for despair, especially with the added turmoil of a pandemic, along with fewer hours of daylight going into the winter months. I fear that teacher’s mental well being is at higher risk than ever before with all the added uncertainty and stress brought on this school year. Worst of all, the disillusionment phase is a valley (I’d say a pit but valley adds a bit more hope). The despair is real, and your feelings right now (and always) are valid. The good thing about a valley (and a pit for that matter) is that there is an incline out of it, although it’s a steep one. The amount of time you spend in the disillusionment phase depends on your ability to climb out to the other phases that await you: rejuvenation and reflection. And this year especially, we desperately need to get to those phases. What I’m about to share with you is the 5S strategy for surviving disillusionment - because you deserve peace and wellness this holiday season, regardless of the circumstances. We are always inundated with professional development on how to improve as teachers, but we don’t get much - if any - guidance on how to process and balance the emotional and physical toll teaching takes on you. The S5 strategy is teacher PD for a balanced life in the midst of chaos. #1 - Simplify. Think of it as running in “safe mode,” like a computer does when it’s been damaged or is having its memory drained. Ask yourself these questions: What has to happen each day? What are the most important things that need to get done? How can you do those things well - without any bells or whistles? Even if you are a bells and whistles person, in the disillusionment phase, put them away for a while. A lot of what we expect from ourselves…comes from ourselves. We set the bar really high, then get upset when we struggle to get over it! The important thing is that your students learn and feel loved. They are living through the same crisis, as are their families. Especially with the learning curve that has come with distance learning and teaching, now is the time to pare down to the minimum viable product to deliver instruction. That doesn’t mean be a crappy teacher. It’s the opposite: focus on teaching well, not embellishing and teaching well. We all need to get through the winter ahead so we can hopefully a spring with a brighter outlook. Concentrate on the things that you are required to do each day. Remember you’re trying to climb out of a valley. You can get back to being "extra" when you’re on the other side of this. #2 - Stop. Stop answering emails at all hours. Stop grading into the night. Stop scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest and mentally beating yourself up for not having themed, color coordinated templates for your virtual classroom - it’s making you SICK (read this blog post for evaluating how your social media feed affects you). You have not caused the circumstances we find ourselves in this year, but chances are there are some behaviors and habits that are sucking the life right out of you. Drop them like a hot potato, quit them cold turkey. Stop the toxic practices that we’ve come to normalize in teaching. If you haven’t read this post about setting boundaries, “stop” and go read or listen to it, because it’s all about why it’s important to create divisions between school and home, even if you’re working from home this year. Notice I didn’t say to stop doing those things period, like answering emails or grading papers, those things have to get done, but you - and only you can do this - need to put end times on them so you can recoil and relax. And don’t let the fear of the work not getting done stop you from doing this. It gets done - often when you have time boundaries, you tend to work more efficiently and get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time. But more importantly, the work getting finished isn’t nearly as important as you not being consumed with work 24-7. It’s a self control thing that starts with you. #3 - Soften your self talk. We are often our own worst critics and say things to ourselves that we would never say to a friend experiencing the same or similar circumstances. Personally, I get really upset with myself if I don’t figure something new out on the first try - often before I read the directions. I just have this odd expectation of myself that I should know how to do it by looking at it! But I would never get upset with someone else if they didn’t do something perfect the first time they tried something new. I certainly wouldn’t be upset with a student when they're learning something for the first time. I’m sure there have been times this year - especially with technology - that things haven’t worked out how they “should” have for you, and you’ve probably gotten mad at yourself. The thing is, was anyone else mad at you for messing up? And…if they were, is that how you would have treated someone in the same situation? It doesn’t make right if they did. How we speak to ourselves truly matters, because indirectly whether you realize it or not we’re teaching our students and our own children how to speak about themselves and react when they make mistakes through our own self talk. Like I said, this is hard to do, but if you want to get out of disillusionment, you have to extend yourself grace. Self talk influences your mood and your self-esteem. You’re teaching through a global crisis, and learning how to teach with technology on the fly. I bet if you make a list of all the things you have had to learn how to do since this started you’d really see that you’ve accomplished a lot. So please extend yourself the kindness you’d expect from your students to treat others with when they are less than perfect. #4 - Speak up. Other teachers are feeling the same way you are - the fatigue, the stress, questioning if they can do this for the entire year. You and they are not alone - but it’s easy to feel that way, especially if you’re teaching remotely and aren’t with your colleagues. You start to feel like the pilot in the movie Cast Away - stranded on an island with few resources to survive. We all need to have our feelings and fears validated. Even though administrators have their own set of stresses in this season, they still need to know what you’re experiencing in the classroom. No one knows what it’s like to be you but you, but they won’t know what you’re feeling unless you express it. I’m not saying being disrespectful, and I’m not saying blast the current situation on social media. But you do need to tell others about what you are going through, because the less alone you feel, the more light you start to see at the end of the tunnel. Also, speak up about solutions you see to your current teaching situation as well. There’s no way to tell if your ideas will be considered or acted upon, but often we get so into our “teacher tunnel” vision we forget we have good, professional opinions that need to be considered. The benefit of being in the valley of disillusionment is having truly been in the trenches, and your insight is valuable. Don’t feel like anyone’s listening? Keep speaking up. #5 Strategize. We have to get through this year. Most of us, even if the situation we find ourselves feels devastatingly hard, can’t just quit our jobs. We’ve got to find a way to make this situation work without destroying our health or our dignity. Otherwise, we’ll spend the rest of this year in the disillusionment phase. The second half of this school year can play out better than the first. That’s the benefit of going through the disillusionment phase in some capacity each year; you learn what’s working, what’s not, and how to make it sustainable. Pay attention to how simplifying your work and stopping certain behaviors improves your life. If the changes you make and the things you eliminate make teaching easier and give you more time to take care of yourself and be present for your family, carry those on out of the disillusionment phase and into your regular practice. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, and it’s that martyr mentality creeping in: that a “good” teacher should be giving his or her all, burning the wick to light everyone else’s candle, in it for the outcome not the income. I know, I’ve taught 18 years, I’ve heard them all - and at some point, I believed them all as well. And it just about killed me. What I’ve learned is that you not only have chosen a profession of great value, but that you are a person of great value as well. And you can’t give the world your full value and fulfill your purpose as a complete human being if you're burnt out from holding onto to standards based on outdated teacher cliches. So yes, you have an obligation to complete your responsibilities as a teacher, but you have an obligation to yourself to make a life you want to wake up to every morning as well. And to do that, you must strategize how you will survive the times in the pit so when you climb out of the valley of disillusionment, you can thrive. To review, the disillusionment phase of teaching is when reality sets in and the stress, fatigue, and expectations threaten to throw you off course. To rise out of disillusionment, use the 5S Strategy. Simplify your tasks and teaching, Stop the behaviors that keep you from setting boundaries, Soften your self talk, Speak up about your feelings and solutions, and Strategize for what you need to do in order make the second half of the school year better. Use this experience being at “rock bottom” in a year that has turned everything upside down to develop routines and practices that work for you - so you can be the teacher and person you want to be.

Writing a grant proposal is a bit like building a ship. Any holes in the structure can cause your idea not to float with the person on the other end reading your proposal and deciding how to distribute funding. In this third installment of the How to Write Grants series, we’ll look at some tips for making your grant “sink proof” with some extra writing tips and a word about budgeting. 7. Don’t complain. Those reading your grant know classrooms are overcrowded, that there isn’t enough money for r esources, and teachers are strapped to provide the best for their students. Otherwise they wouldn’t be funding classroom projects. Don’t waste valuable space (some grants have a word limit) telling them the obvious. There's a difference between describing your students' needs and restating what’s wrong in public education. For example, including the number of students in your classroom without access to technology at home would be stating a fact that would help someone understand your unique needs, as opposed to writing something along the line of “teachers never have enough resources for the students.” Share what you do to promote student learning in spite of the circumstances. Come across as someone who has a solution to improve your students’ learning environment, not one who dwells on the problems. This will help your grant request be view as a solution - and a good investment. 8. Negatives are your positives. Securing funding isn't just about getting "stuff;" it's about making improvements. This goes back to Part One of this blog post series about thinking in terms of project, not product. Don’t forget about your demographics and test data. It’s not that these things are negative or “bad,” but they are aspects that are obstacles to reaching your students needs - making your grant request all the more vital. Many grants request the demographic information for your school and/or classroom. Emphasize in your application how a particular demographic benefits through your project (example: low socio-economic, status high special education population, etc.). If there is the potential to bring up a weak academic area as evidenced through assessment data, include that, too. Make your statistics work for you, and your students will benefit when your grant is awarded. 9. It’s all about the money. Budget wisely and sensibly. Just because you can write a grant for up to $10,000 doesn’t mean you should. Those awarding grants want to spread their funds as much as possible, unless it’s a grant for a fixed amount of money. Think of your goals. While many projects do warrant great expenditures to make an idea a reality, keep in mind the materials you request should adequately and appropriately fulfill the intent of your project. Do your research so you can include the best prices in your budget for the requested materials. You need to be exact when you get to that all-important page where you need to list your materials and quantity of each. Remember to include any other extras that may be necessary to get your project off the ground, such as batteries or bulbs. Another good rule of thumb: break it up. Write grants for smaller amounts of money and fewer materials at a time to gradually build up to a large scale project. A well-written grant with a lower dollar figure stands a better chance than an over-the-top project that isn't clearly expressed. As mentioned in Part Two of this series, make sure you read the directions regarding what expenses will and will not be funded. Those guidelines will be adhered to by the granters regardless of how well-written or intentioned you are in your request. There’s one more installment in the How to Write Grants series before we “anchors away” and you can sail away with all the valuable tips you need to begin securing funding for your classroom. In the last post of this series, I’ll share how to maintain connections with those funding grants to build lasting relationships and trust.

To listen to this post on the Next Chapter for Teachers Podcast, click here. What have you been feeding yourself lately? I’m not talking about the food on your plate (although that’s important too) - I’m talking about your social media news feed. We rely on the internet to keep us connected during this time when we can’t be face to face, but what you read and see impacts how you see yourself and how you teach. Today we’re talking about social media and how it impacts your life and practice as a teacher. It was an important topic before COVID hit, and is even more so now. We are online like never before - not just to teach our students, but to communicate with one another, search for ideas, inspiration, shop - the virtual world has become a necessity while the physical world is not fully available or safe to us. Before going any further, let me say there is a lot to gain from the ideas and connections we form online. The technologies, apps, and programs that we have at our fingertips today are making this season of life much more doable than had it occurred 10, 15 years ago. It's also improved our outreach as teachers and our ability to connect virtually with students. I share more about this in The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, which you can download here. But the volume of information we are consuming and the amount of time we are spending in isolation are cause for a pause. It’s how we are internalizing what we are reading and viewing, at what is for many of us the lowest point of our careers or lives, that we need to take a look at. Social media is not only our place to connect, but where we go for ideas, curiosity, and boredom. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of viewing glossy feeds, stylized photos, and catchy quotes. The longer you scroll, the harder it is to separate it from reality. I’ll share a personal experience from three years ago. I was on Instagram after a long day at school in the Spring - and we all know what are students are like around Spring Break. I was tired and feeling defeated - in several areas of my life. Then, I came across a quote on someone’s grid - I can even remember it was in black and white, in a very trendy font. It read, "If you’re not giving your students your best, don’t expect them to give you theirs." It pierced my heart, because I was going through a difficult experience personally where I felt devoid of energy and unable to be the teacher I wanted to be for my students. I could not give my students my best. Reading that message, although not intended directly for me, made me feel even more hopeless and negligent as a teacher. Now, in hindsight, I can see the fallacy of that quote, because as adults with many responsibilities and demands outside of teaching, there are many times when we can’t be our best - especially right now. And just because you can’t be your best teacher self doesn’t give your students a free pass to misbehave or complete their work to the best of their ability. We know that our students can’t always do their best because of what’s going on in their lives, either, it’s a two way street. But back to how this relates to what you’re feeding yourself on social media. What you see in posts on Facebook and Instagram (or any other outlet you use, those are just the ones I’m familiar with) is not the whole picture of that person’s life, much less yours. You have to keep in mind these three things: 1. We’re all in different stages of our lives. Our chapters may be similar in some instances, but they have different settings, plots, and characters - especially characters. Someone just starting out in their teaching career or just beginning life on their own is going to have a different perspective than someone who has been in the classroom a while and has experienced more of life. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing, it’s just the truth. You don’t know what you don’t know. But before you take something you read or see to heart, remember that. 2. Many people, including teachers, use social media to connect with potential customers and clients. Social media has changed the advertising and marketing game. And again, that’s not a bad thing either, because I am a big supporter of small businesses and run one myself! It’s a great way for people to get to know you and your platform or product. I mean, that’s probably how you found this podcast! But remember. you are a demographic that is being targeted for sales. When people want you to know, like, and trust them, they are going to “sell” the best version of themselves. You’re not likely to see the messy tables, wrinkled clothes, and dark circles because that doesn’t make the best advertisement. 3. You aren’t seeing that person’s entire story. Even when people share things about their lives that aren’t so glamorous or aren’t so great, it’s often getting shared through a filter - literally. It looks better than what it really is, and there’s bound to be more there than what you see. In a way, that’s good - because I believe, even when you are trying to connect with people and be real, that certain elements of our lives need to be unapologetically closed off to others. Not every aspect of my life is for public consumption (sorry not sorry). But see it for what it is - highlight reels, filters, and poses. Even the feet up Fridays with the cute shoes. It’s feet up Friday because that’s cuter to look at than frazzled hair on a Friday afternoon, you know? So are you ready to clean up what you’re feeding yourself on social media? The first step is to determine what is making you SICK - that’s an acronym, S-I-C-K. If the things on your social media diet are making you SICK, it’s time to unfollow, block (if you’ll still be tempted to look them up), or unsubscribe - even if it’s me that’s making you feel that way! Let’s begin with the “S” in SICK - it stands for Sad. Depression and anxiety are running rampant right now, and our executive function has been taxed to the max as this pandemic has played out. If scrolling through your news feed of other teacher’s brightly lit classrooms, engaged students, colorful commentary is making you feel even more blue than you already may be, you’ve got to do something about it. Don’t keep consuming things that make you sad - protect your mental health at all costs. The “I” is for imitate. There are many great ideas that I have gained from IG, Pinterest, and YouTube over the years. But you have to put those ideas in context of who you are as a person and teacher and who your students are and their needs. As I like to say, Pinterest isn’t Pedagogy! In fact, I remember the days of teaching where we didn’t have Pinterest to look through for ideas, we had to look within ourselves to come up with creative and different ways to reach our students. And that is still possible - you have good ideas all on your own with no prompting from the internet! If you feel that you have to be just like someone else, don’t. Your students are different, your teaching style is different. Your way of adapting your classroom environment to 2020 is unique to you. If you feel you just have to be someone else - it time to unfollow. Because we need you, just as you are! On to “C” - Compare. It goes along with imitate, but it’s a little different. There’s a saying that goes “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and it’s no lie. We’ve all done it. We’ve scrolled and said “I’m not as accomplished as her, I never look like that at the end of the day, I don’t do those kind of activities with my students.” The end thought is always something to the effect of “she’s great and I’m not.” It’s a deep pit that we fall into with comparison, and the further you go, the harder it is to climb out. It goes back to that you don’t see that person’s entire life, entire story. And that person may very well be doing the same things after she posts - looking at other people’s feeds and thinking how she’s not enough! If what you are consuming has you pitting yourself against a filtered reality, it’s time to let comparison stop stealing from you. And last, the “K” - Keep you from taking action. Total defeat. Overwhelm. Hopelessness. I’m not talking about 2020, I’m talking about just feeling in complete despair over what you read and watch on social media. It’s the feeling that there is no use in even trying, you could never be like that or you are a failure before you even start. Just being in complete paralysis from all those that seem to be ahead of you. We can’t live that way. We can’t live in defeat or think our ideas or dreams are unattainable because of people who are great at editing photos and writing copy and ultimately selling themselves put themselves out their into the digital beyond (again not a bad thing, just see it for what it is). This year has brought enough despair and distress for several lifetimes. If your social media feed makes the words “never,” “impossible,” or “not me” creep into your heart, clean it up. So that’s SICK: Sad, Imitate, Compare, Keep you from Taking Action. Now... In contrast, let’s talk about what can make your social media feed WELL - another acronym. Connecting online is here to stay. I’m not here to knock it by any means, just think it shouldn’t control our self-esteem. So here’s what can stay in your feed with WELL: “W” stands for Want to Take Action. In contrast to what keeps you from taking action with SICK, we all need people who motivate us to be the best versions of ourselves. And there is a difference between motivation and imitation/comparison. At a time where we’ve lost our normal and every day seems to blur into the next, sources of initiative are a much needed boost. If it boosts your morale, makes you excited for the next day, or keeps you putting one foot in front of the other, by all means keep that on your feed! The “E” is for empower. This is very important, because even pre-pandemic, it was easy to feel as an educator that the big decisions are out of your control. However, you do have more control over your life and your classroom than you think. It just often takes bold, empowered people to help us see it for ourselves. A favorite saying I have come across is “When you start seeing what you’re worth, you stop giving people discounts” - meaning when we recognize how worthy we are of respect and happiness, you won’t permit others to do and say things that take that away from you. People that make you see your options and your value in the classroom and in your life are keepers. The first “L” in WELL is for Look Forward To. Do you always anticipate when someone is about to put out new content or scroll for a certain account because you’ve figured out they usually post on a certain day? I personally look forward to getting an email every Sunday night from one of my favorite bloggers and podcasters because of her encouraging, realistic perspectives on education. We all need things to look forward to and be excited about right now, when we can’t get out and engage in person. And the second “L”? It stands for Like Yourself. I’d go for love yourself, but that’s a tall order for a social media influencer to fill! People who make you feel good about yourself and make you smile are who we all need to aspire to be - if not online, then in real life. We could all use a jolt of joy right now. There’s an account I follow that’s pretty much all quotes that lift me up. If someone resonates with you, “gets” you with their posts and messages, keep those accounts around. Not only are we the consumers of content, but we are also the producers. If you’re someone that posts on social media channels, think about what you are putting out there and its intent. I’m not saying walk on eggshells, but we all need to think about the why and what behind our communications. Is your post going to make someone SICK or WELL? It’s worth considering, especially when many of us are feeling fragile and insecure about the future. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own happiness. But with the way that the online world has become ingrained in our reality, we need to take steps to process the content we’re taking in so that it builds us up instead of tearing us down. It goes along with setting boundaries, which I discuss in this post. To review, we’re all in different stages in our lives that influence our views and what we post. Social media is a modern means of marketing, and the same advertising techniques that are used in traditional print media apply. Remember you are viewing someone’s highlight reel, not everyday life. Take a moment over the next few weeks, or the next time you tap on Facebook or Insta, to see if your news feed is making you SICK or WELL. Think about who you want to be when the chaos of COVID is over - and make sure it’s reflected in your social media diet.

As the school year continues to proceed in an uncertain fashion, let’s continue to direct some energy into the things that remain in your control. Do you have an idea for a project or supplies that could make your socially distanced classroom situation a bit brighter for your students? There’s probably a grant for that. Part one covered how to focus your idea, showcase it in a title, and plan how you will connect with your audience of grant writers. In part two of the How to Write Grants blog post series, we’re going back to the basics: here are three simple things you can do to make your grant idea stand out and look like the professional that you truly are to those reading your proposal. These may seem like very ordinary, run-of-the-mill ideas, but when competing for the same funds as other educators or institutions, it’s the little things that show granters that you are a serious and trustworthy awardee. 4. Follow the directions. Seriously. One way grants are sifted through is by eliminating those who didn’t read the instructions. Always read and follow the fine print, down to font size and margins. Your grant application is like a job application. If you don’t follow the word limit, include the required information, or meet the deadline, it’s already over. You’ve shown you don’t really want the “job.” If you have questions about how to complete the grant, there is usually an e-mail or phone number listed for you to contact for information. Better to be safe than sorry in the end. Another point that I go into more in the next post in this series: be sure to provide any requested information regarding items and expenses in the budget. Not doing so is also a deal breaker. 5. Grammar and spelling count. Word choice does, too. Whatever you do, check your work before you turn it in. Nobody likes to read through a paper that’s a minefield of mechanical errors (not even you, teacher). The appearance of your grant application is just another way of showing you do or don't care. No one wants to read something that goes over his or her head, either. Don’t use jargon in attempt to impress the reader. A grant application is not a college essay. Remember from the first blog post on writing grants how important it is to consider your audience and what they may or may not know about classrooms and teaching. Just be your best self, and you may be surprised at the outcome. 6. Avoid using “filler words.” I consider any word that can be left out and still maintain the flow of your writing a filler word. Fillers are fluff, the adult version of adding "I hope you liked my story" or "The end" to your essays in grade school. They are little, repetitive words that distract a reader from the purpose of your grant. Although you want to provide as much information as needed, you also want to be concise. Getting your point and ideas across with clarity and brevity will stick in the reader’s mind much more so that unnecessary rambling just to fill space. For example: the word “will” takes up a lot of space, especially if you have a word limit for your application. You will find yourself using "will" over and over and over...because your project hasn't happened yet. The solution: write your grant in the present tense and the reader can better visualize your project in action. Personally, I think it makes it sound like you have a better vision for your project when you use present tense and allows for more visualization on the reader’s end. Another good word to leave out as much as possible: that. That takes up a lot of room, too. I'm also not too fond of “also,” as it, too, becomes repetitive. Your new assignment: take a hard look at your own writing. Often as teachers we get so caught up in the teaching of writing (if that is a subject you are responsible for teaching) that we don’t take time to look at our own craft. Being able to write well is a gateway to improving your communication and sharing your voice with others. You’ll feel more confident expressing yourself as a professional, whether it’s sending a parent email or addressing your school board. Writing well is a ticket to getting others to take a closer look at what you have to say. Use grant writing as a means better your classroom environment along with your ability speak for yourself.

This blog post is based on a podcast I did on setting boundaries. You can listen to it here. Today’s topic, boundaries, is extremely important considering the mounting stress teachers are under as the school year resumes in the midst of a global pandemic. Whether you’re teaching face-to-face, remotely, or in a hybrid model, the demands are unlike anything I have experienced in my 18 years in the classroom. If you’re a new teacher and you have nothing else to compare it to, I’m sure you are wondering what you’ve walked into. The expectations and uncertainty of what the future holds for this school year have not only caused disruptions to work-life balance, but to the physical and mental health of teachers. Fearing for your safety unfortunately is not a new thing in education - only the threat now isn’t just an active shooter or other acts of violence, but not having the necessary PPE or social distancing to protect yourself during the day and to avoid potentially bringing COVID home to your loved ones. Aside from health concerns, the technology transition that most schools are undergoing is a source of overwhelm in itself. Even if you are back in a physical classroom, the move to put resources online and teach students how to use technology to complete and submit work - basically making things as touch-less and paperless as possible - is no easy feat, six feet apart and wearing a mask. Everyone has a different level of comfort with implementing technology, appearing on camera, and adapting their teaching style and resources for a digital format. If it feels like too much, it’s because it is. No one, I assure you, ever signed up for this. Worst of all, this is a long haul situation. It’s not going away next month, next semester, and who knows, maybe not even next year. It’s not the normal that we want - but it’s the normal that we have. Which leads to our discussion about boundaries. The line in the sand. A brick wall, if you prefer. The point before the breaking point. Boundaries are how you protect your family, your health, and your soul. It’s a topic I discuss in The Thrive Guide: Beginning a Teaching Career in Uncertain Times, which you can download at this link. Creating boundaries is the only way to sustain a teaching career for the long term. It’s you, as an intelligent, worthy individual, recognizing the necessity of a division between work and home. Being a first year teacher is overwhelming - pandemic or not - but no teacher of any experience level is meant to work themselves into physical and emotional exhaustion. As I like to say, you are more than a teacher, and you deserve to set limits on how you spend your time outside of school. Setting boundaries will save your career before it starts. But no one can set those boundaries but yourself. How long to stay after school, when to stop responding to emails for the day, the amount of time to spend writing lessons, grading papers, or troubleshooting technology. That’s for you to decide. And believe me when I say I know it’s hard, because I have struggled saying no and reducing the blur between my work life and home life. However, a saying that I have come to abide by is “What you allow, will continue.” You have to speak up for your needs as a human being, or no one else will. And you are allowed to have needs and limits - even in a pandemic. One of the reasons why setting boundaries is so hard - is because teaching is a profession dominated by women. As women, we often feel it our duty to be the nurturers, to sacrifice our time and needs for the safety and security of others. I refer to this as the “martyr mentality” and the “busy badge.” Maybe you’ve felt that you’re not good enough unless you’re giving all you’ve got until you have nothing left. I couldn’t disagree more. No career should lead to the destruction of your health, family, and happiness. Not even the noble pursuit of teaching. Setting boundaries is not selfish - in fact, it’s more selfish to run yourself into the ground because you feel you need to do it all. Who will you be, what will have left to give others, if you’re burnt out and not able to serve anyone? And a very real point to consider, especially in the age of COVID19, is the value of your life. I recently wrote a blog post about this for NNSTOY, titled “You Are Not Essential,” that addresses this topic. But let’s go back to that “martyr mentality” and “busy badge.” We hold on to those with an iron grip in education, and they will keep you from sticking to your boundaries every time. It comes down to confronting your own ego. You alone are not meant to save the world, do everything, or make all the trains run on time. The issues that abound in education prior to and in the midst of COVID19 were created by many longstanding problems out of your control. We can all do our part - but we have to recognize our own frailty as human beings. Others have created issues and look to you to clean up a mess you did not create. And often, what’s being asked of you isn’t necessary or could be approached in another way. If public education is to succeed, there needs to be systemic change, but internal change from teachers as well. It starts with creating boundaries. Not because you are lazy. Not because you don’t care. But because you recognize your worth as a human being who was made not only for service to others but to experience peace and joy - even in a pandemic. I'm sure even if you agree with me, you’re thinking, “Okay, but how do I get there? How do I make boundaries?” Learning to create and stand by boundaries is a growth process. You will cave and have to start over. You’ll be wracked by guilt. But ultimately, you will gain self esteem, confidence, and be an even better teacher than you ever could have dreamed of being because you will have the energy to focus on the things that matter - in your classroom and in your life. Here are five ways to get started with setting boundaries today. 1. Make lists and prioritize your tasks. Focus on completing the things that are due first and what is most important for student learning. The popular Steven Covey quote, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” applies here. There’s a lot being thrown at you to do right now - but you know as well as I do, as a talented, well educated professional, what is most important for your students to experience this school year. When faced with an onslaught of tasks, choose the things that are the must dos and most important dos. There’s no doubt in my mind you have the intelligence and intuitiveness to find them. 2. Be intentional with how you spend your time. This has become even more difficult with our need to use technology for teaching and to keep updated on an ever changing situation, but by being intentional , you can be, well, intentional. If you have things that you need to finish, close the door, silence your phone, and get to work. This often means being firm about not being interrupted, especially at home, but if the intention is to create more time with your family and you are upfront with that, the ones that love and truly care about you will get on board. It may mean having to change your habits, but think of it as exchanging one habit for a better one. You'll feel better when you can cross things off your list. 3. Choose certain days to complete necessary tasks. Make one day your day to stay late to plan lessons or upload assignments for the upcoming week, instead of doing it at the last minute or staying after school each day. Use a calendar to schedule your times for when you will work on these things so you have a visual reminder to keep you accountable. What if that doesn’t give you enough time to get everything finished? Go back to number one - prioritize what matters most to student learning. The concessions you may have to make are worth the peace you gain. 4. Have a time where you "turn off" school for the day - and stick to it. I know - this year that’s like asking for the sun not to rise. But if you’re going to make it to June, it’s probably the most important thing you do. Even if you feel you must bring work from school home, set a time where work will stop and life for the evening begins. You and your family need to have time to connect and prepare for the following day, with no interference from work. It will be there tomorrow waiting for you - but this moment with your family will not. Your "turn off" time also includes responding to emails and parent communication. Emergencies happen, and parents are just as stressed as teachers regarding the changes to education, but your time as an adult, spouse, and parent yourself needs to be respected outside of school. Leave correspondence about work and student issues to the hours you are at school or holding “office hours” if teaching remotely. 5. Find or keep your hobbies and activities you enjoy that are not school related. Don’t let those go by the wayside in spite of everything that’s going on. Being a well-rounded person will make you a happier, healthier human being, not to mention teacher. With the emotional distress that we are under from this crisis, they are necessary for maintaining your mental health. Work out, learn how to paint, have a Zoom meet up with friends - the endorphins gained from having fun will only help you with the work ahead. Before I close, I feel I need to address the act of saying “No,” because in order to set and maintain boundaries, you’re going to have to do this, and not everyone will like and respect that. I’ve been there, and it doesn’t feel good to be looked down on. It requires a level of bravery that didn’t come easy for me. Teacher guilt is a real thing. You can be giving your all to the point of exhaustion and feel as if you aren't doing enough. Being asked to be on a committee or to take on another responsibility may feel important while at the same time like one more thing on an already full plate. You need to do what's fair for yourself and your family at all times. Not everyone is going to have this mindset, but not everyone is you. More people need models of healthy boundaries, and you can be that person by speaking up for yourself. If you need a script for something to say when you know you need to say no, you can use this: "With my other commitments, I cannot give that my full attention right now. That is something I would be interested in doing at another time. Please keep me in mind for the future." (Only say the last two sentences if that is true.) I’ll leave you with this. Another one of my favorite quotes is "every day you teach others how to treat you." Teach others now that your "yes" is valuable. The pandemic has forced us all to look at the value of life differently. Use this moment to establish boundaries that will sustain you the rest of this season of education and beyond. The teaching profession needs your talents just as much as it needs you to be healthy and whole.

In a time where nothing seems certain and plans for the start of the school year get more scrambled by the minute, focusing on the future may seem futile. Picking a theme and decorations for your classroom environment? Hard to do in earnest when having a physical classroom isn’t a guarantee. Creating lesson plans and activities for your students? Without knowing if you’ll be virtual or in-person, you don’t know who or what you’re really planning for. Everything is subject to change, and the unsettledness of it doesn’t feel good. Something I discuss in detail in The Thrive Guide is dealing with disappointment, and it’s running rampant right now. The joy and anticipation of beginning a new chapter in your life has been marred by a broken world. While none of it is fair, your mindset is going to determine how you come out of this experience. You are in control of what you learn and how you prepare yourself to be successful. I debated on what would be a good blog post series to accompany The Thrive Guide, but with the continuing uncertainty over how many of you will be teaching this year, it’s difficult to pick something that would be useful to everyone. So I am going to veer in a different direction and teach you how to write grants. This may seem to be a completely irrelevant topic right now while you’re trying to piece together information about your classroom arrangements or are waiting in angst for someone to let your know what will be your reality for this year. In a world of unknowns, this I know to be certain: you will spend an enormous amount of your own money to not only set up your classroom, but to teach your students your entire career. You will have needs, you will have ideas, you will want something better than what you have to reach your kids - and it will all cost money. That’s where grants come in. What is a grant? There are organizations, non-profits, and companies that award money for projects and resources to schools and individual classrooms. After reviewing applications to see which proposals best fit the mission of the organization and make the best use of funds, money is awarded to those selected for the completion of the project. A grant doesn’t need to be paid back; you will often have to provide documentation of how the money was spent and share the results of the project or impact of the materials. I will be posting grant opportunities on my Twitter this fall, but a good place to start looking for funding sources is Donors Choose and GetedFunding. I recommend every new teacher set up a Donors Choose account, as they provide many ways for teachers projects to be funded through businesses and donors. A quick Google search will bring up more grant opportunities that you can imagine, and your school district may even offer funding opportunities throughout the year as well. Grants open up the possibilities of what you can do in your classroom and save you money. They also help you build relationships with organizations and businesses in your community. There will always be things that you either need or want to purchase for your classroom, no matter how long you have been teaching. This school year may pose some unique needs in order to teach your students at a distance, especially with technology. The only caveat to writing grants is that the success of your application depends on how well you write it and put it together. I will share 12 grant writing tips over four blog posts to teach you the best way to share your ideas and needs with funders so you can secure resources for your classroom. Learning the skill of grant writing from the beginning of your teaching journey will serve you well throughout your entire career. These are time tested tips from my experience of writing grants and securing funding for projects over 17 years in the classroom. 1. Think project, not product. Start by brainstorming a list of ideas or things you feel would improve your ability to reach your students. Then, prioritize the things on that list by importance through these questions: Which ideas or resources on your list are the most urgent for helping your students? Consider their needs, strengths, and weaknesses. What are your instructional goals? Can certain items be together into one project idea or need? “Clustering” your ideas can help you settle on the project you want to focus on and give you a blueprint for future ideas.There’s nothing wrong with wanting a document camera or a math manipulative set for your classroom. Those are valuable resources that can improve your ability to teach. The fact that you simply want one, however, shouldn’t be the focus of your grant. Develop an experience or project for your students that has them use the materials requested in an innovative manner. That alone should drive the focus and content of your grant. 2. The title of your grant is like a headline… Or a book cover - only your title will be judged. Just like the headlines you view while scrolling the news on your phone, certain ones are going to grab your attention: the ones that are most interesting and most aligned with your interests. In this case, the interests of the grant reviewer are their organization’s mission and purpose in providing the funding. A title that is unique and pertinent will “stop the scroll” and encourage the reviewer to turn the page. The title of your grant is also like a movie preview. A snazzy, catchy, play-on-words will capture the reader’s attention and set your application apart from the rest, even before it has been read. Acronyms are also a great way to name your project and set its purpose. When possible, try to include the outcome of your project in the title. Example title for a geology project: Can You Dig It? Sleuthing Students Excavate Learning with Fossils Example title for a math and geography integrated project: Off the Grid: Using Map Skills for Math Mastery Another important note on titles: don’t be misleading. Your grant title should describe the true content and nature of your project. 3. Consider your audience and funding source. Those reading your grant and distributing funds are most likely not teachers, especially if the funding is coming from a company or non-profit organization. They are usually business professionals who aren’t familiar with educational terms and lingo. You have to step into their world and write clearly, concisely, and persuasively. Keep the education jargon to a minimum - especially acronyms (IEP, ESOL, and TTI aren't going to mean anything to them unless you explain what they stand for). Help them “see” your classroom by describing life with your students on a daily basis - in plain English. This is an opportunity for people outside of education to get an understanding of the needs and issues of actual classrooms. Alway tie the outcome for students back to your project and requested materials. How is this going to improve learning for students in a way that won’t happen otherwise? Grants also serve as public relations (PR) for the organizations that fund and award them. It's school–business partnership where both parties benefit. If your grant application is accepted, you are being chosen to represent their mission and goals for being viewed as a supporter of education. Project proposals that best represent the mission of the company or funding source are going to become front runners. Learn about the organization awarding the funds. What do they produce or support? What types of projects have they funded in the past? Do your homework and apply it to your writing - so you make them want you to represent them as a grant recipient. My assignment for you: think about some of the needs you or your students may have coming into this school year and what resources may be needed to meet them. Do a search for at least three grant funding sources (I highly recommend Donors Choose if you at least know what grade and/or subject you will be teaching). While it may seem a little out of order to be doing this now, the world as we know it has been “out of order” for much of this year. This is your way of taking control and being proactive about your needs in the classroom. In the end, it really will make “cents.”

Friday, March 13th. A day steeped in superstition, report card comments, and writing St. Patrick’s Day themed lesson plans for the upcoming week abruptly transformed into the marker of the last day of traditional school instruction. The announcement thundered over the airwaves when the clock struck noon, and teachers frenetically created learning packets for students to complete during the anticipated three-week classroom hiatus. Little did we know those three weeks would stretch into the three months leading to the finale of the school year. Little did we know those carefully designed learning packets would render themselves useless as the severity of the COVID-19 crisis precluded students from returning to the classroom. Not one teacher anticipated the fourth nine weeks becoming a crash course in distance learning, and certainly no one hoped it would serve as basic training for continuing remote instruction into the upcoming school year. One day I was helping 10 and 11-year-olds navigate the angst and drama of adolescence (with many a sentence ending in “…and this is why there is NO LOVE in the 5th grade”), and the next I was assisting them in setting up their student accounts on Edmodo via screencast. The energy put into trying to convince my class of the relevance of dividing fractions and the need to start sentences with capital letters now went into posting resources, managing discussion threads, and conducting lessons via ZOOM. The plane wasn’t just being built in the air - the pilot was simultaneously learning to adjust the flight course so the passengers didn’t crash into middle school in the fall. Everyone’s situation is different, so I will share the context of my experience this spring. My school district is 1:1 technology integrated in grades 3-12, with all grades 3-5 students having iPads to use for instruction. The majority of my students (23 out of 28) had regular, reliable access to the Internet and participated in our online classroom environment, attending video meetings and completing assignments. Prior to this crisis, I had taught online graduate level courses for teachers and had used learning management systems (LMS) for years to organize and enhance my teaching. I’m in favor of a balance of technology use in learning; while the benefits (and current necessity) of digital learning can’t be denied, kids still need to to be making, writing, and experiencing things by hand. Integrating those opportunities into a distance learning environment is essential. While remote learning wasn’t the ideal means of closing (and likely beginning) a school year, there were several things from my experience that are indicators of the potential this season of distance teaching has to change education for good. Here are seven positives that came out of my crash course in remote learning with my 5th grade class: 1. I could focus more on teaching the content. Without assemblies, special events, bathroom breaks, and other scheduling deviations, my attention went into the most important things to cover by the end of the year. I was probably more invested in finding new resources and different ways to teach the topics we had left to learn about because my school hours didn’t include the things that normally take my time and energy. Did my class miss out on the end-of-the-year fun and rights of passage they would normally enjoy? Absolutely, and it’s a shame they had to end their time in elementary school this way. However, the time we spent together for instruction zeroed in on the essentials. Without the normal distractions, remote learning can be an opportunity to focus on finding and creating the best content for instruction. 2. There were fewer classroom distractions when working with students. You can have the best classroom management in the world and still lose instructional time due to student behaviors and interruptions. It’s a natural part of face-to-face instruction. Every students’ home environment provided some sort of distraction, from having siblings crash math class to someone’s television show providing the soundtrack to the day’s lesson. However, my attention to students when working with them in a small group or one-on-one in our Zoom meetings wasn’t compromised by having to correct or be on the alert for students who were off task. When they had my attention, they truly had all of me - and although our time together was shorter, the fact that the normal classroom distractions were not present worked in their favor. 3. Many parents were more communicative. All of us - students, parents, guardians, and myself - were united in that this was the first time we had ever experienced complete remote classroom instruction. The ever changing situation, especially at the beginning, had many families ready and waiting for the latest updates on how instruction would be conducted, how to complete assignments, and how to submit work. More importantly, it gave us a chance to connect as people. Frustrations over navigating remote learning, the loneliness of self isolation, fear of the future - all of it came out in emails and Class Dojo messages. I chose to address every interaction with empathy and compassion. With all the life-and-death issues in the world, confusion over where to upload a document or retrieving a forgotten password deserved nothing but grace. It also made me more aware how to communicate concisely and thoroughly to families to ensure they had everything they needed. I like to think we both came out of this experience with greater respect for what each of us are responsible for during this time. You can learn more about how to communicate with parents effectively in The Thrive Guide. 4. There was more flexibility regarding when we held class. Online learning is a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. While I had resources and assignments students could access on Edmodo at anytime (or by a given date), we also had times when we met for direct and small group instruction using Zoom. I surveyed my students and parents using a Google form about when the best times were for our class to meet together. There were many things to consider as far as when students would be able to participate (parents working from home, times students may have to be in child care, access to wifi), but it was also a chance to meet when my students would be most alert and ready to participate. They were getting a say in something they had never been able to control: the best time for them to learn. While not everyone could be accommodated, the majority of my class was able to meet for our synchronized instruction during our scheduled times in the afternoon. My students used the morning to “wake up” and complete assignments. Many body changes happen to 5th graders in the spring, and that slower start to the day was helpful. By the afternoon, they were ready to go. Students could always watch the replays of our meetings if they missed. If students needed help or to work in a small group, we could meet when needed, for however long was needed. It made for a relaxed atmosphere where students were focused and ready to learn - and we appreciated those times together a lot more. 5. Automating tasks gave me more time to focus on teaching. This is one of the advantages of using a learning management system (LMS), which is an online classroom. Although it takes a while to get set up and going, I save more time later once I have a system established. Assignments can be uploaded and discussion posts for students to respond to can be written ahead of time and scheduled for when they are to be posted. Using the features in an LMS to create tests and quizzes that can be automatically graded undeniably is a game changer for teachers. The best thing of all is that archiving anything you create for a class lets you keep it to use and modify in future years. Using an LMS for automation allowed me to have time to concentrate on how I would teach when we had time together and to have time to look for new, creative ways to reach students - time that I otherwise wouldn’t have had. 6. It was a reminder of what matters most. I have a lot of regrets about how I spent that last week of school before remote learning took over. Certain things I expected out of my kids now seem irrelevant. Did it really matter if the kids wrote in gel pen as long as they were getting their work finished? I don’t know if I’l ever pick that battle again. Yes, I was over hearing the same joke asked at least ten times, but what would I give now to hear them laugh and just be carefree kids, together again? And the time we wasted this year doing benchmark assessments and “practicing” for a yearly standardized assessment that couldn’t even take place? Those were hours, had we known how this year would unfold, that could have been spent learning new things and making memories while we had the chance. Remote teaching has validated everything I believe to be important about education. Building relationships with and making connections to students are the things that move the needle towards improvement. It’s what has held us together during this time of crisis, not nit-picky rules or over gleaned data. There are things that I can’t wait to see go back to normal when this is over, and there are elements of “normal” that I never wish to see again. Testing is one of them. 7. I had time to focus on self care. I’ve been a full-time elementary school teacher since I’ve been 21. My work days have been filled with more quiet in the past five months than they have been in 17 years. That hard, fast halt to life back in March was a chance to evaluate where I was physically and emotionally, particularly when the news was saturated with minute updates on a global health crisis. Teaching no doubt takes a toll on your head, heart, and soul. While I’ve improved tremendously on creating balance and establishing boundaries over the years, being knocked out of what I call my “teacher tunnel” during this time has made me reexamine how I care for myself. Now more than ever it’s important to prioritize your health and that of your family above all else. You are essential to the future of this profession, and it will require you to be your best self. Yesterday afternoon while I was finishing this post, it rained. Not just a shower: a rowdy thunderstorm with pelting drops and vibrations that made the windows quake in their frames. Just when the sun started to peek through the clouds and the worst was over, it started to pour from the sky again, straight through the sunbeams. It was the perfect metaphor for this year of upheaval. An idiom we learn about during our figurative language unit is “when it rains, it pours.” No truer words could be said about the deluge of uncertainty that has beset us this year. Also true: when it rains, it grows. Difficult circumstances, no matter how torrential or their duration, are always temporary. All that “rain” seeps down into the essence of who we are. Growth comes from the storm. We won’t be the same again, nor should we be. If we can use what we learn from remote teaching to improve how we approach learning, Friday, March 13th, may turn out to be the luckiest day of all.