There’s a question that’s been nagging at me for months and months, starting at the end of last school year, persisting at times through the summer, and now louder and clearer with a new school year under way. It’s been a hard one for me to voice because I’m keen on focusing on what I […]
Search Results for: moments of genuine connection
The Effort Belief in Action: Read Naturally as a Case Study
Nic was convinced that no matter how hard he tried, he would never do better in school. Unsurprisingly, this meant that Nic did not want to try at all. His conviction wasn’t built on laziness or bad intentions. Nic, like all of the students I’ve ever taught, didn’t want to be unsuccessful, and in other […]
Doing Good v. Doing More
There are two ways of pursuing productivity. The first way asks, “How do we produce as much good as possible in our work and in our lives?” The second way asks, “How do we get as much done as possible in our work and in our lives?” I think that most of us start out […]
How to Build Resilience, Part 1: Acceptance of Reality
Last time, we established some basic insights from the literature on resilience: it’s a thing; it makes our lives better; it’s a lot like the serenity prayer popularized by twelve-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. Resilient people are characterized by three tendencies: I. Acceptance of reality (treated below)II. A strong sense of purpose (treated in this […]
The CCPR of Teacher Credibility
Starting out at a new school is hard, whether you’ve got no years of experience or ten. You can bring instructional expertise, nuclear passion, and tomes of knowledge, but when you start at a new school, there’s a big thing you lack: credibility. Is this person a good teacher? That’s the question everyone’s asking, whether […]