10 Movies That Will Inspire You Ep. 76

August 7, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

10 Movies That Will Inspire You S.5 E.76

Listen to this episode to hear about movies that will inspire you to live a life of intention and encourage you to hold onto your dreams!

Are you a movie lover? Today we’re talking about movies. Not just any movies, but movies that will inspire you to live with intention. We’ve got classic movies, little known movies, and movies from four different decades. If you are up for an inspiring movie, stick around and hear our choices.

In this episode:

We love a movie about someone who takes charge of their life and makes something better for themselves. It is not enough to dream about it, or to fall into circumstances that cause a great change. The character has to be proactive and bring about change themselves, often through grit and determination.

We often talk about living with intention, and these movie characters are examples of people who make a decision about what they want and then make intentional choices about how they live their lives. They are models of all the things we talk about on this podcast.

Here are ten movies that will inspire you to live with intention and go after your dreams:

While You Were Sleeping

We probably all have that cheesy movie that we love for some inexplicable reason. This is mine. I’ve seen it so many times I know just about every line.

While You Were Sleeping stars Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and a great cast of character actors. Lucy is a lonely ticket taker for the “L” in Chicago. She dreams of a different and better life. She has a crush on one of the passengers, Peter, a man she has never met. When he is accidentally pushed onto the tracks, she saves him, and later is mistaken for his fiancé.

While Peter is in a coma, Lucy meets his family. She has no family of her own, and she comes to love the warmth of this new family. She can’t make herself tell the truth and give them up. Ultimately, Lucy wants to create a better life for herself, and eventually, she does and she gets the family she’s only dared to dream about.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith stars as Chris Gardner, who struggles with joblessness and homelessness while raising his young son. He meets all kinds of obstacles, challenges and misfortunes, and somehow manages to stay upbeat and positive. It is an example of the ultimate in resilience. He just never gives up, and remains a positive role model for his son.

There are likely a lot of people who have many similar experiences. We know some teachers who have been through a lot and still show up at school and for their families in positive ways. It reminds us to have perspective, and to stay focused on what we can do. It is also about knowing that kids are watching us and we are modeling for them and influencing them.

Grab a tissue. And get ready to believe in your dreams.

Working Girl

Tess is a typing pool secretary dreaming of being more. She spends her commute from Staten Island into Manhattan reading newspapers and following business trends. When she gets a chance at a bigger life, she takes it head on, resulting in dramatic, romantic, and comedic antics. This movie stars Melody Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and a hilarious Joan Cusack in one of her best roles ever. It scores bonus points for ridiculously big 80’s hair and big shoulder pads.

Tess teaches us that we can go after what we want, that women can care out a role in a male dominated business and that confidence will take you far.

The Greatest Showman

This movie is a fictionalized version of the story of P.T. Barnum. You probably know some of the songs, it has a great soundtrack including songs like This Is Me, and Never Enough. The song A Million Dreams, sung by a young P.T. Barnum while he is dreaming of the life he will create, is the anthem for dreamers everywhere. We both agree that the soundtrack might even be better than the movie. It was remade in a great version by Pink.

Here are the lyrics of the chorus:

Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it’s gonna take
Oh a million dreams for the world we’re gonna make

Doesn’t that just inspire you to want to go out and make the world a better place?

School of Rock

Jack Black plays Dewey Finn, a lazy and slobbish musician turned substitute teacher with questionable ethics. Note: we are NOT promoting his bad ethics. Dewey has a love of music and an unexpected talent for helping students to see their unique talents. He sees their potential. He brings out the best in his students.

The teacher in us loves the way he really sees the students and how he is able to make them shine. He gets them excited about learning and performing. Isn’t that we all wish for with our students, that they grow into their best and we bloom into our best along with them?

Erin Brockovitch

Julia Roberts plays a single mother fighting to take down a big energy conglomerate who is poisoning water and causing cancer. Based on a true story, Brockovitch is like a pit bull that won’t back down. As she learns more, she becomes stronger and stronger. We love seeing her grow into her power.

The lesson here is that one small person can take on the mighty and make a difference. And just maybe, that could be you.

Finding Neverland

This movie is the story of struggling playwright J.M. Barrie, played by Johnny Depp. Barrie is inspired by a family of young boys he meets in the park and their widowed mother, played by Kate Winslet. Barrie amuses the boys with inventive stories and eventually puts them into his new play, Peter Pan. The producer and actors don’t hold out much hope for the new drama, but Barrie prevails and you know the rest. The message? Don’t give up your day dreams.

Julie and Julia

In this light comedy, Julie, is a chef and blogger played by Amy Adams. She wants to get better, and is inspired by the work of Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep. Julie decides to cook her way through the entire repertoire of Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is no easy task, but her determination keeps her going and her dream of becoming an author becomes real.

In a parallel story, we see a young Julia Child fighting her way into the world of French Cooking. Her determination and hard work ultimately result in her success as an iconic chef and cookbook author. Add a little bouillon, add a little butter, and don’t give up your dreams- that is a good message from this movie.

Both of these women work with intention. They have lofty goals and work hard to realize them. Of course, just like for us, there are failures along the way, but they persist and are resilient.

It’s a Wonderful Life

This Christmas classic, starring Jimmy Stewart is beloved for many reasons. It is an example of good triumphing over evil. It is a family love story. But mostly, it’s a story of redemption. George Bailey has big dreams and plans. Time and time again, he gives up his big dreams to sacrifice for the greater good of his family and even for the town of Bedford Falls. He keeps getting knocked down and can’t move forward with his plans and dreams such as going to college or traveling.

When he is contemplating suicide, the angel Clarence appears to him and shows him what life would have been like if he had never lived. In the end, he realizes that his choices through the years resulted in all the good things he wanted in his life.

Rather than sacrificing for a life he never wanted, he was investing in a life of riches. Perhaps we have all been investing in our lives through the choices we make, and this movie reminds us that we have the power to make choices and ultimately change the course of our lives.

Don’t we all want to say that we have created a life of riches?

Boys in the Boat

This is a true story about grit and determination. It takes place in the 1930s when US Poverty was high due to the Great Depression.

It tells the story of Joe, who is broke and pretty alone in the world. He goes to the University of Washington where he tried out for the crew team basically as a survival measure because he could get housing, money, and food.

The coach stressed that trying out for crew would be an exhausting, year-long process which it was but Joe was used to hard work. Joe made it onto the team, partly because he was used to working hard and enduring pain.

The movie focuses on the teamwork that is necessary for crew and for life. It is about grit and determination to make dreams come true. This team faced many obstacles due to poverty and people’s perception of them, but ultimately the story ends at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. You will have to watch the movie to see what happens there. Regardless of the outcome, the story is inspirational.

Conclusion:

It could be said that all movies are the story of a transformation. In most good literature, the main character has some sort of transformation as part of the story arc.

We are drawn to characters that make deliberate choices that cause their transformation, rather than those who are transformed by an accident or by the actions of others.

In our heart of hearts, we believe that we can choose our own lives and that we can make a difference in the world. These stories show us that we can.

Recap:

Sometimes we all need a little inspiration. We hope these movies have given you some ideas for your next movie watching binge and that you find them as inspiring as we did.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Inspired Together Teachers Network:Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Learning

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

If you are dedicated and caring but often overwhelmed and exhausted, join us at Inspired Together Teachers. We’ll give you inspiration, strategies and tips that help you navigate life’s challenges as a stronger, more confident, and more joy filled person, both in and out of the classroom.

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

Recharge Your Battery, Recharge Your Soul Ep. 71

July 3, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Recharge Your Battery, Recharge Your Soul S. 5 Ep. 71

Listen to this episode to learn ways to recharge your battery and soul!

Episode Summary:

Have you ever felt emotionally and physically exhausted? Have you ever felt moments when you were completely drained of all energy and inspiration? We have! We all have those moments when our internal battery is running on or near empty. Just like your cell phone might glitch when the battery life is low, the same can be true when the battery of your soul runs low.

In this episode, we will explore how to identify when your internal battery is low, look at what drains your battery, find out how to recharge your battery and finally we will look at proactive steps we can all take to keep our passion charged.

In this episode:

As always, we share personal examples and stories in the podcast. For the full experience, please listen to the podcast.

Introduction:

When was the time you made a comment about a battery? If you’re anything like us it probably wasn’t too long ago, maybe even just minutes ago. We regularly say things like, “I need to charge my phone. The battery is running low” or “I need to charge my watch the battery picture has a line through it.” We might even say things like “The remote control isn’t working correctly, the battery must by dying.” Or “Can we wait to leave for just a few more minutes so my laptop can charge a bit more.”

Think of your passion for your life and work like a battery… Do you regularly talk about your internal battery? Think if you spent the same amount of time and energy on keeping the battery that is your passion and your soul charged, that you do on your phone battery? What would that look and feel like? Wow! That’s a thought.

Today we are going to explore how to identify when your life battery is getting low, how to identify your battery drainers, and explore strategies for how and when to recharge your battery, including how to charge up proactively and to supercharge your battery!

Look for signs that your life battery is running low

When our cell phone battery starts to get low, the visual reminder is there. The picture of the battery shows the percentage it is charged and it also switches to different colors, such as red when it gets low to draw our attention to it.

Our life battery does not have the same reminder and often gets overlooked in our busy day-to-day schedules.

When our cell phone battery gets low, it can get “glitchy.” For example, it takes longer for an app to load or games don’t play as well.

Ask yourself:

What physical symptoms do I feel/display when my body or soul’s battery starts to get low?

For example, perhaps your neck gets tight, or you get migraines.

What emotional symptoms do I feel or display when my body or soul’s battery starts to get low?

For example, maybe you find yourself getting short with people or things that normally don’t bother you start to bother you.

The next time you notice that you are experiencing any of these physical or emotional signs that your battery is getting drained, take notice. This is like the little battery picture telling you that is switching to red and needs to be charged.

Identify things that drain your battery

Before we begin this brief section of the podcast where we discuss what drains your battery, we want to point out that not all things that drain your battery are bad. Even if you love something, too much of it can drain your battery…

For example, you might love to play a musical instrument or a sport. However, if you sign up for a competition that requires hours and hours of your time, it might just become a battery drainer.

Also, what drains your battery, may not be battery draining for another person.

Think about your last day or last week at home. Ask yourself, “Which of my daily responsibilities drain my battery/passion?” You know these things in your life, though you have likely not identified them as battery drainers.

For Paula, for years the car line to drop off her kids in the morning was a battery drainer. It was extremely frustrating and it often drained her battery to the point that it regularly started her day off on a bad foot.

For Michele, city traffic is very draining. She gets frustrated when things are moving slowly or when drivers are irresponsible, cutting in, hitting the brakes, or honking at someone.

Find what recharges you

For our phones and devices, it is easy to identify what recharges them- plugging them in to an electricity source.

The human equivalent is REST.

This is another great time for self-reflection. In the same way we reflected on what it looks and feels like when we are drained, we can ask similar questions about rest. .

What physical or emotional reactions do I feel or display when I am resting or recharging?

For Paula the physical reaction is clear. Her shoulders drop down about 2 inches and the tightness in her face muscles relax. Emotionally, she is calmer and more patient. Reading, beaches, and long walks and talks with loved ones are her forms of rest and recharging.

For Michele, an introvert, recharging usually means finding quiet time for herself. Like Paula, she likes to be around water which helps her to be calmer and to think more clearly.

It is important to identify those things in our work and home life that recharge our battery and passion so that we can make sure we are doing them!

What are those things for you? If you are stuck on this one, it might be helpful to break it down into two reflection questions:

What are the activities in which I most enjoy relaxing and recharging in my personal life?

What are the activities in which I most enjoy relaxing and recharging in my professional life?

Strategies for how and when to recharge your battery

A charging battery makes us think of renewal, resilience, and boundless energy. However, there needs to be a plan to recharge batteries or the renewal and rejuvenation won’t occur.

What if we recharged our battery as often as we recharge our phones? What would that look like?

Although it would be amazing, it is likely that you cannot spend as much time in a day thinking about and actually recharging your body and soul like you do for all of your different devices. However, it is important to look at the signs, physically and emotionally, that are shouting at you to charge up.

You need a plan. You need to be intentional. You need to identify how and when to charge.

When our cell phone battery is running low, we don’t wait for it to drain completely. We “charge up” when we have free time to prepare for long stretches away from the charger.

You might have a charger in your car, because you know you might not always get home before you need a charge.

We could, and should, be doing the same for the batteries of our soul. What could that look like for you?

Paula sings in my car with the radio on full blast on her way into work or driving to a particularly tough meeting. She particularly loves to belt out to ABBA! Or she listens to an audio book which does helps her to escape for a little bit.

Michele is not an ABBA fan, but she’s learned not to over schedule herself, even with fun activities or people. She needs need quiet time to read.

What fills your battery? How could you fit in a bit more rest and recharging time into your day, even if it is just a few minutes in the car?

Ways to “supercharge” your batteries and restore your passion in short and effective bursts

Paula only buys the charging cords that give you a high level of boost in a very short amount of time. The same could be said for what we could do in our lives. Maybe you don’t have a week to sit on a beach and recharge your battery to 100%, however, a cup of coffee with a friend before work or a good laugh with the colleague down the hall can give you that nice little supercharge to your soul that you need to sustain you longer.

Consider activities you could do with colleagues or friends to supercharge your battery. What fun things could you do with students? Is there a PD you want to explore? A short book you want to indulge in while riding the bus?

How can you prepare to space/time these activities accordingly so you can recharge before, or interspersed throughout, activities that drain your battery?

Recap:

Be aware. Be intentional. Listen to your body and your emotions. What drains you? What recharges you? Take that rest. Recharge in the way that best suits your life.

The ultimate goal is to avoid letting your charge get too low!

Quote:

We end with this quote from the wise and wonderful Oprah Winfrey.

“If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.”

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

The Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 16 Real Self Care

The Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 22 What’s Draining You?

The Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 31 Finding More Joy

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

Finding Balance Between Work Life and Home Life E. 70

June 26, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Finding Balance Between Work Life and Home Life S. 5 E. 70

Listen to this episode to learn strategies for finding balance between your work life and home life.

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

We’ve all been too busy, too exhausted, and too overwhelmed to make the kind of difference we want to make for our students and still enjoy the rest of our lives.

School has a way of taking over your life. If you have struggled with overwork and exhaustion and are feeling like you are never good enough and will never get it all done, it might be time to take back your life.

We certainly don’t have all the answers. In this episode we’re talking about finding balance in our work and home lives. We’re going to tackle the real story about finding balance.

In this episode:

Finding balance- there is a loaded topic! It’s like the Holy Grail, if we could just find balance between work and home, everything would be so much better.

It is a constant push and pull. Sometimes school wins, sometimes home wins, and sometimes your personal needs win.

The real story is that finding balance is a misnomer. You probably won’t find balance. However, there are some strategies that allow you to create a more balanced life.

How to create more balance and take back your life.

Set boundaries.

You want to be responsive and helpful to students, colleagues and parents, but it can’t come at a cost of total lack of a personal life. You don’t need to be on call 24/7. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries for what you will and will not do.

Create a personal policy for returning parent phone calls and email.
Set a pleasant automatic response that tells others when you will return messages.
If parents or students are constantly texting you, reconsider giving out your phone number.
It is not part of your job to call a student every morning and wake him up for school. It is not part of your job to be awakened by a parent’s text at midnight- or to respond to it.

Check your level of perfectionism.

If you have high standards and want to do everything perfectly, chances are it is causing you stress.
Perfection is not possible. There will always be a better lesson plan or a more perfect activity. A teacher’s work is never done, and the to-do list always exists.
If you like to have everything done and crossed off the list, you will be constantly frustrated.
Accept the fact that there are always things on the to-do list, but they don’t all have to be done
If you are exhausted, resentful and angry about how much you are working, look at your own expectations. Some things deserve 100% of your attention and skill. Other things might be just fine with B+ effort, or maybe even C+ effort. Spend your time on things that matter, and remember that sometimes, done is better than perfect.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

Are you trying to keep up with the amazing teacher next door or the fun teacher on social media? Are you exhausted yet?

We each have our own gifts. There is something that you do that is unique and different from other teachers. Perhaps you give students amazing feedback. Perhaps you have a gift for making all students feel special. You might be the one whose jokes keeps kids engaged or the one whose passion for your subject inspires them.

Don’t try to copy other teachers. You can learn from them and borrow their teaching ideas or tools but recognize that you can teach in your own way.

Also, be cautious with social media; it is easy to compare yourself to influencers and come up short. Remember that you also have special things that you know and do.

Start Your Day with Intention

The busier you are, the more you need to focus your time and energy on the things that are most important. When you have more things to do that time to do them, you need to prioritize where you put your attention.

Prioritizing is hard, especially when all the things feel important.

Without prioritizing what you do, your day easily gets hijacked.

If you don’t focus on what is most important, it is easy for others to make demands that seem like priorities in the moment but may not be your priorities.

Take a couple of minutes first thing every morning and list your top 3 priorities. Make sure those three things get done. That is a win.

Focus on things you can influence.

Everything that bothers you is not within your circle of control. We can waste a lot of time and energy worrying about things that we can’t actually do anything about.

Look at your current situation. Identify which aspects of your situation you can control- and which you can’t. Then, let go of the things that stress you that you can’t control.

Identify the areas that you can control. These are the places where your actions can have an impact.

Pick one small thing you can control and do it.

Concentrating your efforts on small things that you can control helps you to realize that you can make a difference. Positive action increases our positive mindset and gives us a greater confidence in our abilities.

Reduce stress by completing the stress cycle.

Many of the factors that contribute to stress are out of our control. There are things we can do to feel less stressed but most of those revolve around changing how we react to stress.

When we experience stressors-our body engages in a neurological and physiological shift.

You’ve felt the effects of stress on your body: increased heart rate, faster breathing, and heightened senses. Stress also messes with your digestive system, other organs, your immune system, and reproductive system.

Stress often stays with us, unless we do something to reduce the stress. That’s chronic stress, and it has many negative results including headache, anxiety, irritability, depression, insomnia, higher blood pressure, higher blood sugar, higher risk of heart attacks and even fertility issues.

All is not hopeless. Despite ongoing stress there are things we can do to complete the stress cycle so that our bodies can return to normal. We aren’t changing the stressors- just changing our reaction to the stress so that our bodies can let it go and reset to more normal pattens.

What can we do to complete the stress cycle? In the book Burnout, Emily and Amelia Nagoski suggest:

· Do anything to help your body move and sweat.

· Stand up and take a few big breaths.

· Breathe deeply.

· Engage in positive social interactions.

· Laugh.

· Show affection. Hug someone.

· Cry.

· Do something creative.

Ask For Help

Teachers often try to do it all. We fill our plates to the point of overflowing without the proper supports in place. Yet, even the knowledge that we are doing this to ourselves does not often stop it from happening again.

Consider that there are people who can help. They may be willing to share of their time, their talents, and resources.

As the old saying goes, “It never hurts to ask. The worst they can do is say ‘no.”

Conclusion:

We want you to be here for the long haul. We need good, passionate, committed teachers. The danger of burn-out is real, as is the danger of losing good teachers to a less demanding profession. In order to continue to love your job, you need to find ways to rest, relax, and recharge. If things are feeling out of control, do what you can to take back your life. You might not be able to find balance, but you can create a more balanced life.

We have created a free resource to help busy teachers create balance. You can download the free guide/work book on the homepage of our website, inspiredtogetherteachers.com.

Recap:

Finding balance between our work life and home life is a challenge. Learn to set boundaries, check your perfectionism and stop comparing yourself to others. Start your day with intention. You can also focus on things that you can control. Completing the stress cycle will reduce your stress, and you can ask for help. Chance you are won’t find balance, but with these strategies you can create more balance.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 6 Set Priorities to Take Back Your Life

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 7 Prevent, Eliminate and Reduce Stress

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 8 Choose Your Battles

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 11 Maximize Your Morning Routine

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Episode 16 Real Self Care

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

Tips to Reduce The Tension of Teacher Transitions Ep. 67

June 5, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Tips to Reduc The Tension of Teacher Transitions S. 5 E. 67

Listen to this episode to learn strategies for surviving teacher transitions!

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

As teachers, transitions in our career are always happening. Some of these teacher transitions are voluntary and some are involuntary. Some are welcome and some are not. Learning to reduce the tension of transitions can be a good lesson for all of us, no matter the time of the year or the place we are in our careers when the transition occurs.

Today, we explore common types of teach transitions as well as strategies we can use to reduce the tension that inevitably surrounds us as we make transitions. Whether your next transition is known to you, or is hiding around the corner waiting for the right moment to catch you off guard, you will definitely want to have these tension-reducing tips in your back pocket!

In this episode:

The following show notes are a summary of the episode. In the discussion, we often add stories or examples. Listen to the podcast episode for the full discussion.

Introduction:

As teachers, we are always in flux. We continually have new colleagues, new students, new assignments, new….well you get it. The list goes on and on.

Teacher transitions often involve the unknown and the unknown can be scary. There can be a lot of tension and fear.

Let’s take a minute here and clarify one thing. In this episode we are talking about teacher transitions. We are not talking about the transitions that we help our students make between classes or between the classroom and the cafeteria. We do have a blog post about those types of transitions, titled Teacher Tricks for Triumphant Transitions, Today we are talking about the career transitions that teachers make on a regular basis. So let’s jump right in and explore types of transitions commonly experienced by teachers

Types of teacher transitions teachers commonly experience:

Voluntary and involuntary transfers

Voluntary transfers occur when teachers choose to transition in their career. Maybe you’ve asked to teach at a different grade level or you have taken on more of an administrative role this year to see how you feel when you are out of the classroom. Even though voluntary transfers are sought out by the teacher making the transition, that doesn’t mean that they’re not scary and can leave a teacher feeling like they are far out of their comfort zone.

If you don’t know what an involuntary transfer is, consider yourself lucky. Involuntary transfers occur when a school district decides to transition a teacher to a different grade level or maybe even a different school based on student enrollment numbers or budgetary constraints. Involuntary transfers can be particularly difficult transitions for teachers to make because they often felt safe and comfortable and we weren’t ready to take on new roles, new responsibilities, or maybe even have to go to a different location to teach.

Moving to a different grade level

If you haven’t moved to a grade level other than the one you are currently teaching in, you probably know someone who has recently transitioned to a different grade level. Teachers transition between grade levels many times in their career. Some of the transitions are smooth, for instance if a teacher transfers from 2nd grade to 3rd grade in their current building on to a team where they are ready know all of the teachers well.

However, some grade level transitions can be much more difficult such as the case where a teacher who is certified to teach middle school and elementary, moves from teaching at the middle school to teaching lower elementary the next year. That is definitely a major transition when it comes to content, ways of teaching and behavior management, and the developmental stages of the kids.

New teaching teams

Teaching teams who have been together a long time start to feel almost like family. So when one person leaves the team and another one comes in, the transition can be very difficult. Whether it is the new person on the team feeling left out and like they don’t understand the inside jokes of the team, or it is the existing team members who are worried their new teammate won’t like them, this transition can often be difficult.

Moving to a new school

Have you ever moved from one school to another? If you’ve made that transition you know how difficult it can be to pick up on all of the rules, nuances, and expectations of a new school. This can be especially true if you move at the beginning of a school year and are expected to teach all of this to your students when you haven’t even learned it yourself. It’s hard to be the new kid, which still stands true when you are the new teacher.

Moving to a new district

Moving from one district to another can be like moving from one planet to another. The transition can help any teacher realize how much they took for granted in their last district. Not all districts function the same in the transition from one district to another definitely can cause a lot of fear and anxiety for a teacher, even if the transition was one that the teacher wanted.

New careers in or out of teaching

Teachers definitely experience a time of transition as they move into the field of teaching or as they move out of the field of teaching. These are pretty major transitions so it can take teachers have while to get their feet on the ground. For example, imagine the teacher who transitions from teacher to administrator and then has to become the supervisor of their previous colleagues and peers. That can be a tough transition.

This quote from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sums up transitions well. “The transition was difficult. It’s hard to stop something that you’ve enjoyed and that has been very rewarding.”

Strategies for reducing the tensions of teach transitions:

Treat it like an adventure

Mindset matters. If you tell yourself the transition is like a jail sentence you will find things in your surroundings to confirm that. If you tell yourself it is like an adventure, you will find evidence in your new surroundings to confirm that too. Plan for the transition like you would an exciting trip- a safari into the unknown. What do you hope to see? To learn? To experience?

Make a “pros” list

If the transition is involuntary or a particularly large transition, you have probably already considered all the cons. This is our mind’s way of protecting us and keeping us safe, always looking for danger. But have you stopped to consider all the benefits? Make a list of the pros. You may be surprised at how quickly your list grows. Think about the new friends and colleagues you might meet. One positive outcome might be the opportunities you will get to play on your strengths that may not have been noticed before you made this transition.

Take action steps to ensure success in your new role

Instead of spending your time and energy worrying about the transition, repurpose that energy into action steps that will help you to be successful in the new roll you’re transitioning into. For example, if you are going into a new school or district introduce yourself to people before the first day of school. Switching to a new grade level? Read up on the content, pedagogy, skills, or knowledge that will help you to be more successful in that grade level. preparing for your new role will help you to reduce the stress about the transition.

Get yourself into a good place physically and mentally before making the transition

If you’re anything like us, and we’re guessing you are because you are human too, if you are feeling rested or happy, you can better handle the stresses that life throws your way. Because transitions involve so much unknown, the better you feel physically and emotionally, the better off you are, and the better you are able to approach the transition with optimism and energy.

Are you making a big transition soon? Try to get enough sleep, eat well, and have a few days of well-earned rest before you start. The optimism you bring to the transition, because you took care of yourself before the transition, will be noticed by others

We love this quote by Socrates, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new”. That is what all of these strategies encourage you to do.

Don’t fight the transitions you encounter in teaching. See them as opportunities to build on the new.

Conclusion:

We wrap up today with these insights from author William Bridges who has studies and written about the differences between “changes” in our lives and “transitions”:

“It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transitions. Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new site, the new boss, the new team roles, the new policy. Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal.”

When changes in your life and career occur, our hope for you is that you do the internal work and self-reflection of the transition. Using the strategies we suggested will help to ease the tension as you experience the many transitions of your teaching career.

Recap:

As teachers we are bound to face many transitions in our teaching careers. Whether these transitions are voluntary, involuntary, frequent or infrequent, how we prepare ourselves for these transitions makes all the difference in reducing our tension before and during the transition. By considering the transitions we are encountering as educators, and taking specific actions steps to reduce the tension during these transitions, we set ourselves up for success today and well into the future.

Quote:

“It’s hard to stop something that you’ve enjoyed and that has been very rewarding.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Children’s Picture book: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Transitions: making the Most of Change by William Bridges

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Epsiode 7 Prevent, Eliminate or Reduce Stress

Inspired together Teachers blog: Teacher Tricks for Triumphant Transitions,

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

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More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

The Best Teacher Resources You May be Missing! Ep. 66

May 29, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

The Best Teacher Resources You May Be Missing! S. 5 E. 66

Check out this episode to find the best teaching resources you might be missing!

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

We are always looking for ways to make our jobs easier and better. We want students to learn in the best way and we want to keep our sanity and protect our time in the process. As teachers, we are always on the hunt for resources. We look to websites, books, social media and other resources to help us. We buy templates and scour social media for ideas.

But what if we told you the best resource of all is already in your school building every day?

Stick around as we explore the best teacher resources you may be missing!

In this episode:

As always, this is a summary of the discussion. On the podcast we also share examples and stories. For the best experience, please listen to the episode.

Introduction:

We all need resources to do our jobs better and in a more timely fashion. Just look at Teachers Pay Teachers. We recently read that in the last year alone, two in three U.S. teachers downloaded a teaching resource from TPT. There are over 7 million resources there. That alone tells us how often teachers are looking for resources.

Today, we will explore some of the most common ways that teachers obtain resources. We will ultimately convince you that the very best teacher resources you have are those that are at your disposal daily…other teachers that you know and work with regularly.

Pros and common problems with teacher resources:

Teacher Resources: Books

Books are a common resource for teachers. We love books. They are often based on research. They are vetted. Someone put lots of thought into them. They are a great source for ideas. You can understand the big picture of what you are teaching and also, the how and why.

Books can be expensive, and those costs can add up quickly. It also takes time to find and read books.

Another downside with books is that they can become outdated quickly. New information is found or added. New versions of books can be costly, if you are even aware that there is a new version.

Teacher Resources: Websites

Websites are easy to access. Website information is often free or the materials are available at a low cost. In this category we include Teachers Pay Teachers, websites created by teachers and websites that are run by national organizations. For example, did you know NASA runs a website for kids called SpacePlace that is stocked with videos, images, craft ideas and activities that teachers could easily incorporate into their classrooms for free?

The Smithsonian and other major museums also have excellent sites for teachers.

A major issue with websites is that they are not always vetted. Someone can be creating materials that are actually wrong and no one is fact checking. You need to really know the source and make sure it is reliable and valid. This can take a lot of time as you can go down lots of rabbit holes in looking for a resource that you want.

Also, there is no guarantee that the materials are aligned with your curriculum standards. One teacher in Wisconsin was fired for using a TPT resource which was determined to be misaligned with curriculum standards.

There are good things available on websites, but be careful.

Teacher Resources: Social Media

There are many different social media sites by and for teachers, and many teachers around the world are posting information on these sites. There are certainly potentially good resources available through social media.

Again, using social media can be a time suck. Scrolling can be fun and engaging. Also, you don’t know if the ideas and information really work or if the teacher just says it does to get more likes and follows. Teachers can make a lot of money off of social media. They rarely share their fails so you have to wonder if everything they are sharing is actually a resource that they use and is effective or if it was just shared for the views or for potential affiliate sales.

Basically, proceed with caution on these resources. Teachers can share wonderful things, but you do need to be careful.

Teacher Resources: The Teachers You Know and Work With

We have said it before and we will definitely say it again, but teaching is a very isolated profession. We are often doing things in our classroom that the teacher across the hall is doing as well, but we just haven’t had time to compare notes, ideas, resources, and strategies.

Have you ever considered that the teacher next door might be your best resource?

Your colleagues will be honest.

Of course this also involves you being honest and a little bit vulnerable, going to them and expressing when you need help. When something is effective, they will tell you. If something doesn’t work they will probably share that with you as well.

One caution, just because it didn’t work for one person, doesn’t mean it might not work for you. You can learn from their mistakes, but you have different students and a different teaching style and things may work differently for you.

Your next door teachers are easily accessible and responsive.

You can walk across or down the hall to talk to them or pick up the phone and call them easily. This isn’t an option with website authors, books, or the people you are watching on social media. After using those other resources, you may be left with questions that are unanswered. When teachers are easily accessible to you, it can become a two sided conversation rather than a one way sharing of information.

The teachers around you want to see you succeed.

Most teachers want to see their colleagues succeed. If you haven’t found a teacher in your building or your life yet who wants to see you succeed, keep searching. Schools are stronger and happier when teachers work together.

You can easily swap materials with colleagues.

You don’t need to go and buy all the things if you can share with the teacher across the hall. Swap out bulletin board materials with your bestie who teaches at a different school in the district. Have a make and take lunch break with another teacher on your team and then you can swap the resources you’re making when you both need them. Making resources with another teacher is a whole lot more fun than doing it on your own.

You can brainstorm the best way to create and use materials and ideas with your teacher friends.

There is nothing better than a great brainstorming session where you get excited by building off each others’ ideas. Capitalize on that brainstorming energy and excitement.

Conclusion:

Schools are better when the teachers are better. Teachers working alone and having their own materials and ideas are missing out on the greatest resource which is each other. Working alone doesn’t make schools better. Most teachers are natural helpers and learners. Be each other’s best resources- you deserve that!

We end with this quote from author and educator Robert John Meehan, “The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”

Recap:

We are always looking for resources to be better teachers and to save us time. We look to websites, books, social media and other resources to help us. But ultimately, we have the best resources right at our fingertips. That teacher next door, the teacher down the hall or your bestie who is a teacher – these people are actually the best resource of all! When we maximize our teacher resources, we also maximize our time, energy and happiness.

Quote:

Robert John Meehan “The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”

Robert John Meehan

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Facebook Teacher Warriors Group: Teacher Warriors Facebook Group

Linked In: Inspired Together Teachers

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

10 Movies That Will Inspire You S.5 E.76

Listen to this episode to hear about movies that will inspire you to live a life of intention and encourage you to hold onto your dreams!

In this episode:

Here are ten movies that will inspire you to live with intention and go after your dreams:

While You Were Sleeping

The Pursuit of Happyness

Working Girl

The Greatest Showman

School of Rock

Erin Brockovitch

Finding Neverland

Julie and Julia

It’s a Wonderful Life

Boys in the Boat

Conclusion:

Recap:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

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Recharge Your Battery, Recharge Your Soul S. 5 Ep. 71

Listen to this episode to learn ways to recharge your battery and soul!

Episode Summary:

In this episode:

Introduction:

Look for signs that your life battery is running low

Identify things that drain your battery

Find what recharges you

Strategies for how and when to recharge your battery

Ways to “supercharge” your batteries and restore your passion in short and effective bursts

Recap:

Quote:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Share this:

Listen to this episode to learn strategies for finding balance between your work life and home life.

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

In this episode:

How to create more balance and take back your life.

Set boundaries.

Check your level of perfectionism.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

Start Your Day with Intention

Focus on things you can influence.

Reduce stress by completing the stress cycle.

Ask For Help

Conclusion:

Recap:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

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Tips to Reduc The Tension of Teacher Transitions S. 5 E. 67

Listen to this episode to learn strategies for surviving teacher transitions!

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

In this episode:

Introduction:

Types of teacher transitions teachers commonly experience:

Voluntary and involuntary transfers

Moving to a different grade level

New teaching teams

Moving to a new school

Moving to a new district

New careers in or out of teaching

Strategies for reducing the tensions of teach transitions:

Treat it like an adventure

Make a “pros” list

Take action steps to ensure success in your new role

Get yourself into a good place physically and mentally before making the transition

Conclusion:

Recap:

Quote:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Share this:

The Best Teacher Resources You May Be Missing! S. 5 E. 66