How you doin'?

As we look towards Spring and no doubt see Summer in the near future many of us have reached our threshold. Spring break often serves as a nice island of relaxation and recovery, which often carries us to the end of the year. Stress in our profession is unavoidable. Understandably, I am in part responsible for some of it (sorry!) and like arsenic building up in our system, there is no question that without a remedy we are bound to get hurt. Plan books, lesson plans, conferences, professional development, observations, curriculum, performances, school tours, faculty meetings, phone calls, incidents, duties, politics, blogs!....... How do you protect yourself from stress? What tricks do you have to manage your workload? Since we're all in the same boat I thought I would use this forum to check in and simply ask "How you Doin'?"

Screaming Eggs!

When do we loose perspective? I was with my son the other night and I often allow him to search widely (under supervision) through youtube. Since he's only 3, you can imagine the wild tour we usually take. This particular night I was struck by a video that got me to reflect on something I had witnessed while at work. I saw a teacher yelling at a student to get a point across. I know I didn't like this approach when I was that student. So, now I don't do it as an educator. I try to be aware of each perspective that I need to interact with. Watch the video below by clicking on play.

Screaming Eggs

Now that you probably think I'm crazy, try to imagine when you were that student (egg). How did you view school, learning and your teachers. Now reflect on your role as a teacher. Is it important to use our experiences as students to guide how we teach and manage our class? Do you use your experience as a student to guide how you deal with your students? Or do you just cook eggs?