A Fresh Start: Top 10 Tips for a Great School Year Ep.77

August 14, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

A Fresh Start: Top 10 Tips for a Great School Year S. 5 Ep.77

Listen to this episode for our top 10 best strategies and tips for a great school year!

Show notes:

In this busy back-to school time, we are sharing several of our best back-to-school inspired episodes to help you to start your school year strong!

Episode Summary:

As every teacher knows there is something special about the beginning of a new school year. Each new year brings new beginnings, new opportunities, and a fresh start with fresh faces. In this episode, we’re talking about steps can take to make sure the year gets off to a great start. Listen as we countdown our top ten tips for a great school year!

Introduction:

We love the start of a new school year and bet that you do too. There is little that can compare to the excitement and opportunity that a new school year brings. Along with the smell of new pencils, there is so much potential that is out in front of us, waiting for teachers and students to bring it to life. There will be new relationships with new colleagues and new students. There will be opportunity for new ways of learning and plenty of light bulb moments. There will also be growth- for the students and for you.

Call us eternal optimists, but we want to embrace each new year and give it our best. So, we created a countdown of ten of our favorite suggestions for starting the school year with energy, strength and optimism that we are excited to share with you.Our top ten tips to get your school year off to a great start:

Tip Number 10: Create a good sub folder.

We added this to our countdown because we believe in the power of a great substitute folder and the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to create that sub folder.

You need a great sub folder. It ‘s going to happen, you are going to be sick or have an unexpected emergency that requires you to be absent from school. No matter how healthy you are and how strong your immune system, you will be in contact with students who sometimes come to school ill. You will sleep better knowing that you have a solid sub folder when those unexpected sick days occur.

Trying to prepare good lesson plans when you are not feeling well or when you are in the midst of a family emergency is no fun. We recommend that you prepare a complete and highly usable sub folder.

We have a whole blog post on our website dedicated to specific items to add to your sub folder, which we will link in the resources. At the very least we suggest you include the following in your sub folder:

Your daily and weekly class schedule
Your class attendance lists and seating charts
Attendance and lunch count procedures
Passwords to the white board or computer if they need it to run the lessons
A list of classroom rules and expectations
A list of students with medical concerns (be thoughtful about student privacy issues but share what is necessary)
Location of emergency information for fire drills etc.
A general note to the sub explaining your routines
A list of reliable students and colleagues who can answer questions or be helpful
2 or 3 days’ worth of lesson plans and activities that are related to your subject and that provide important skill work. Your emergency lesson plans should not be directly connected to your current unit of study. This allows you to keep emergency sub plans without having to change them in the moment to reflect the current unit.

Though it does take some time to set up a good sub folder, the time will be well spent when you find yourself suddenly ill or in the midst of a family emergency. You will feel a level of security and comfort knowing that no matter what happens, you have done your best to leave your students in good hands.

Tip Number 9: Build time for yourself into every day.

It is important that you take some time to recharge your own battery. Try to do at least one small thing every day that makes you calm and happy. Do things that feed your soul- even for ten or fifteen minutes if that is all that you can manage. This will help you to stay positive and connected to your values.

Many of you are exploring ways to teach mindfulness to your students. It is also important for you. Stress is real and has many negative health effects. You give so much to so many every day. If you are looking for ideas for self-care, check out Episode 16 where we talk about the difference between real self-care and faux self-care.

Where do you find the time? You don’t. You create it. Use time blocking to carve in a block for yourself. Use a master weekly calendar. Block in your prep times and other work blocks. Then block in buffer blocks, which are short times blocks where you will do multiple small tasks such as sending an email. Then add people blocks, which is where you spend time with people you care about. You also need personal time blocks where you block in some time for yourself. This helps you to use your time wisely.

Tip Number 8: Help students get to know you.

When students feel like they know and understand you, it will go a long way in making your school year run smoothly. Let the students know a bit about you right from the beginning. Tell a funny story about your dog. Talk about your favorite sports or activities. Share a read aloud from your favorite book or tell them about your favorite summer activities. Students will respond better to someone they know, like and trust. You can share bits of yourself without oversharing or becoming a friend rather than a teacher.

One of our favorite teachers has a framed picture of himself when he was the same age as his students so they can envision him when he was their age. Other teachers like to share pictures of their summer adventures so the kids have something to talk with them about. For example, the teacher may project a funny picture of her looking terrified while white water rafting which sparks a later conversation with a student who says they felt that way when they went kayaking with their uncle. Little details about yourself at the beginning of the year can lead to big connections throughout the rest of the year.

Tip Number 7: Establish positive relationships with parents and guardians from the start.

At some point in the year you will need to talk with parents. You don’t want the first thing they hear from you to be that their child is failing or that there are behavior issues that need to be addressed.

Start the new year by introducing yourself. Write a note to parents in a letter home, newsletter, or in your parent communication portal. Give a few details about your interest, your education and your hopes and dreams for learning this school year.

Follow up with information about your expectations, and procedures. You can also include a syllabus or a description of some of the content you will explore or projects that students will experience.

This is also a good place to establish boundaries. Tell them the best way to contact you and the times that you are available to schedule a phone call.

Tip Number 6: Be open to change.

Flexibility is uncomfortable for many teachers who are naturally organized and well-planned. Teaching involves working with real, live, active participants whose needs are ever changing and always evolving. There will be situations out of your control. Sometimes the best strategy is to go with the flow and figure things out as you go. If you thrive on being well-planned, create some contingency plans for days when your regular plans aren’t possible. Setting a goal to go with the flow, right from the beginning of the year, will set you on the right path toward a successful school year.

One middle school teacher gave us this cheeky motto: “Flexibility is our favorite “F” word.”

Tip Number 5: Get to know students as individuals and as learners.

This goes hand in hand with Tip number 8. Let the students get to know you. In return, it is important that you get to know who your students are as individuals. Building good relationships with students involves getting to know who your students are as individuals. Ask about their interests, backgrounds, families, and favorite activities. Give students interest inventories or have younger students draw pictures of things that are important to them. Look at student records to find out about medical issues such as allergies or any other special concerns. The more you know about individual students, the better the bonds you will be able to create with them.

The more you know about students as learners, the better you can help them learn. Give students learning inventories, multiple intelligences surveys or ask them to answer questions such as “How can I help you learn best?” Other good questions are, “Tell me about a time when learning was fun and easy for you,” and “Tell me a time when learning was a struggle for you.” Be sure to check students’ IEPs and understand the type of accommodations you will need to provide. Ask for clarification if something is not clear.

Tip Number 4: Create a classroom environment that you love.

You spend a lot of time in your classroom, make it a place that you love to be in.

Rearrange the furniture. Find different furniture- most schools have a room in the basement or behind the gym with left over odds and ends. Go thrifting. Add a table or another bookshelf. Make your classroom work well for you and for your students. Ask yourself, “What would I need in order to make this room function well?

Consider the colors of your room. How does it feel? Is it open, inviting, and warm? Consider different lighting. Add some plants. Don’t be afraid to add something fun or quirky.

We’ve seen stuffed animals as classroom mascots who hold fun signs with reminders or compliments, and even a model of a human skeleton that dressed up with hats and ties and sports shirts for different holidays and events.

Make bulletin boards that work for you that are not difficult to maintain.

Here are some ideas for easy bulletin boards. Use a quote board. Leave the background and change out the quote each week. Use a large world or US map. Pin things to it, or use it to discuss connections to content. Leave a board for student work and student ideas. Cover it with blank white paper and have students write their key takeaways. The next week they make a connection from something they learned to something in their life… the ideas are endless.

Tip Number 3: Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them

If you haven’t yet made yourself a folder for Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them, the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to create one. As a teacher, you are going to make a difference to someone. It is the nature of our profession that sometimes you will never know how you might have affected someone. Fortunately, other times you will know. People will thank you. You will get scribbled cards, written in messy crayon that says “You are the best teacher.” You will get a grateful e-mail from a parent or a guidance counselor. Someone will tell you that you are doing a great job.

Get yourself a folder or box or an accordion file and save every single one of those positive notes.

Save them for days that are difficult, and there will be plenty of those. Save them for when you are working too hard, and not making enough money and it just doesn’t seem worth it. Save it for those days when a parent makes you cry and days when the students are acting out and you are tired of dealing with it all.

When you are down or struggling, take out that folder and start reading. Those messages, notes and cards will lift you up. They will encourage you and remind you that what you are doing matters. They will feed your soul and revive your spirit.

If you are looking for more information on this type of folder, we wrote a blog post about it. We will link to it in the resources.

Tip Number 2: Focus on building good relationships with students.

The more you know and understand students, the easier it will be to teach them. The more that they know you care, the more likely it is that they will thrive. When students thrive, they can learn. Spend as much time as you can in the early weeks of school, getting to know students and helping them to know each other. Building relationships with them from the beginning maximizes the opportunities to expand upon that connection all year long.

Everyone likes to be called by name, and using students’ names when you talk to them is a sign of respect. Get to know student’s names as soon as possible. Ask students how to pronounce unfamiliar names and if they prefer a variation or nickname.

Greet students at the door each morning using their names. Call on students by name. Seating charts and name tag tents on the desks may help in the first few days. Knowing names may seem like an obvious step, but making a real effort here shows students that you care.

If you are a teacher who sees hundreds of students in a day, consider taking a picture of each student, adding their name to their picture, and creating a class roster with the pictures. Using this photographic roster may help you learn the students’ names better.

We can’t say enough about the power of building relationships with your students. Having a relationship with students makes the difficult conversations just a little easier, and makes the celebrations of a student’s accomplishment just a little more sweet. We think this quote from Dan Rather shows the power of a positive student and teacher relationship:

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.”

We can have more truthful conversations when we have built good relationships.

And Finally, our top tip for getting off to a great start this school year…

Tip Number 1: Spend time building classroom community.

Students who know, like, and understand each other will work better together. Time spent at the beginning of the year can go a long way towards building a positive classroom community. Use community building activities during the first weeks of school that help students to get to know each other. There many available activities, use your favorites or search for more on line.

We have a blog post entitled Essential Tips for the First Week of School that lists a few of our favorite community building activities for the first weeks of school.

Another great way to build community is to have good conversations with them about things that matter to them. Be honest and respectful. Let them share their ideas and opinions. You can have a classroom meeting or in the elementary grades, use your morning circle time.

The first weeks of school can make or break how your school year unfolds. Getting off on the right foot will help you set expectations that will reward you all year long. The time you spend building community will pay off in terms of better relationships with and between the students. Students will be more engaged with you and each other, which will result in fewer classroom management issues and THAT is an excellent way to start the year!

We end today with a quote from one of our favorite educators and authors, Esme Codell:

“Thirty-one chances. Thirty-one futures, our futures. It’s an almost psychotic feeling, believing that part of their lives belongs to me. Everything they become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create.”

We hope you have a great school year. Know that together, we are cheering you on!

Recap:

To recap, starting the new school year with energy, strength and optimism will set the stage for a happier and more engaged school year. Don’t delay, start that sub folder and the folder for the “Positive Notes for Days I really Need Them”. Get to know your students as people and learners while letting them learn a little about you too. Send a positive message to parents. Be sure to set aside a little time for yourself each day and be open to change. Create your classroom in a way that makes it a great space for you and your students. Focus on building those good relationships with students and remember, you can’t do enough community building in the first weeks of school. All of your efforts will ensure a more positive experience for you and for the students for the rest of the year!

Resources:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast Ep. 16 Real Self -Care

Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them

Essential Tips for the First Week of School

How to Create an Amazing and Effective Sub Folder

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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Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

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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.

8 Nonfiction Books that Can Change Your Life Ep.75

July 31, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

8 Nonfiction Books that Can Change Your Life S. 5 E.75

Listen to this episode to hear about some of our favorite nonfiction books that can change your life.

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

Are you a reader? It’s no secret we love to read. We also love to share the best of the books that we read. Let’s talk about nonfiction books that can change your life!

Fiction is fun and relaxing and enjoyable, but nonfiction books allow you to learn and grow. They help you understand the world in a wider way, and build knowledge. Nonfiction books also grow your vocabulary, make you think, help you solve problems, and allow you to dig into interests.

Today we are going to share the best of the nonfiction books that we have read. Believe us when we say that these are nonfiction books that can change your life!

In this episode:

If you are a reader, we already know that even if we haven’t met, we are connected by the power of books. We both love to talk about books, to get new ideas from books, and to share the things we‘ve read.

This summer we’ve shared some of our favorite recent fiction books. We’ve also shared life lessons from some of our favorite children’s books, and children’s books with fabulous teachers.

Today we get to talk about some of our favorite nonfiction books.

Why do we read nonfiction books?

Michele: I read non-fiction in the morning. It motivates me, gets my brain working and gives me lots of ideas and inspiration. I always get ideas when I read informational text and get really excited when I can apply the ideas to my life or work.

Paula: I listen to fiction on audio but really appreciate non-fiction in a text form. I like to highlight and put notes all over in the margins. I usually have a non-fiction book or two that I am in the middle of in my purse, car or bookbag.

We are excited to share some of our favorite nonfiction books with you. While most of these books are carefully “researched” and many of them are written by scholars, none of them is overly scholarly, too stuffy or difficult to read.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

If you are an introvert, Susan Cain is speaking your language. Susan Cain helps you understand what it means to be an introvert, and more importantly, how it can be a strength.

If you are an extrovert, this book will help you relate better to an introverted spouse, child, friend or coworker. Michele recommended this to her sister who said it totally changed her relationship with her introverted son. This is a child who was surrounded by the extroverts in their family. After reading this, she understood her son’s strengths and learned how to help him be successful in his own way.

This is powerful, relationship building stuff!

DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Drive explains motivation in a way that makes it easy to read and digest. Basically, everything you think you know about motivation is either true of an era in the past or just plain wrong.

If you want to understand what motivates you or others, this book will tell you and give you many examples of motivation that works today.

Teachers need to read this book. When you understand how motivate works, and you know which techniques to use. Even more importantly, which ones not to use.

Though this book starts out like a business book, don’t give up. All of the motivation ideas work for anyone. Pink also relates it to teachers and even has a full section on what it means for classrooms.

Worthy: How to Believe You are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Jamie Kern Lima is a highly successful entrepreneur and the founder of IT Cosmetics. She shares her personal journey, especially how she felt a lack of confidence in her life. When she started to be successful, she met Oprah, who offered to help her. Oprah gave Jamie her personal phone number and told her to call. Jamie held on to that number for years, but never called. She didn’t believe she was worthy of having Oprah mentor her.

When we conduct workshops, teachers often tell us about their lack of confidence. People, especially women, label themselves with words like failure, unattractive, too old or too young. They see themselves as damaged, or not smart enough, or not good enough. They feel like they are imposters, and worry that someone is going to call them out.

If any of this rings true for you, Jamie Kern Lima will take you on a journey to help you understand why you think the way you do. Worthy will help you transform your thinking and actions so that you can let yourself shine.

Here is a favorite quote from the book: “In life, you don’t soar to the level of your hopes and dreams, you stay stuck at the level of your self-worth. You don’t rise to what you believe is possible, you fall to what you believe you’re worthy of.”

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Mindset is not another book with success tips or habits. What Dweck presents here is a whole new way of thinking. It is a shift in understanding our mindset. Dweck’s concept is that there are two different mindsets, a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is the path towards fulfilling your potential.

Once you read this, you will never be able to “unread it.” You will see fixed and growth mindsets in people you work with and students you teach.

Many teachers have been exposed to the idea of growth mindset. If you have never actually read the book, you will find it useful, not only for your life at school, but with family, friends, and others that you interact with every day.

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman

If you weren’t the valedictorian of your class but found out that you were very successful anyway, this book will explain why. It turns out that intellectual intelligence and life success aren’t particularly connected. Our view of human intelligence is far too narrow. Other abilities such as empathy, self-discipline, self-awareness, resilience, and grit matter more.

These skills have often been dismissed as “soft skills”. Fortunately, today there is a lot of discussion around social and emotional skills. We’re glad these topics are growing in importance.

We wish that every parent who believes that teachers should stay out of teaching any social or emotional skills would read this book.

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things by Adam Grant

Hidden Potential is about how people learn to understand potential in themselves and others, and then use it to do great things.

Grant shares lots of stories in this book. He describes someone who has hidden potential, and how they learn to see it and understand what they are capable of through the help, guidance or mentorship of others. Often, those others are teachers.

He talks about schools in one chapter, but there are connections for teachers all the way through. What would happen if we could see our own hidden potential and bring it out? What could happen if we could see the potential in all of our students and then help to bring it out?

We could absolutely change the world, and that is a powerful thing to strive for.

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown

Brene Brown was a bit ahead of her time with this book. The world is even more divisive now than it was in 2017 when this book came out. We need it now more than ever.

At its core, this is a book about building relationships. In a divisive world, it is easy to take our ideas and back into a corner where we only seek to be with and understand people who share our vision and positions.

Brown encourages us to open up, to be vulnerable and courageous in being who we are and yet begin open to those who are cultural or ideologically different.

In doing so, we can recognize our true humanity, that at the core we share many things. Brown tells us that it is hard to hate people close up. It is an important idea in a world where there is too much hate.

After reading this book, you’ll understand both why and how to build stronger relationships.

Also by Brene Brown and worth mentioning is The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You are Supposed to be and Embrace Who You Really Are by Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection would also go well with the book Worthy.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Don’t let the title scare you off. You know the feeling of flow- when everything is working well and when you are performing at your best. You are enjoying your work or activities and time just slips away from you. This is flow, the ultimate self-motivating experience. Who doesn’t want more of that?

This is the most scholarly of the books in this list, though you don’t need a PH.D. in Psychology to understand it.

Michele: This book has been very valuable in helping me understand what I need to do to live a life of intention. This is a book that makes you understand what makes people excited to greet the day and excited to be alive. Where you find flow, you will also find joy and love and happiness and ultimately, self-actualization.

If you struggle with motivation or motivating your students, this book will help you understand how we are motivated on a deep level.

Recap:

Thanks for listening as we shared some of our favorite nonfiction books. We hope you were inspired to read one, or listen to the audio version. Nonfiction books can educate, extend your knowledge base, inspire new ideas and give you suggestions for creating the life you want to live. They are truly nonfiction books that can change your life.

Quote:

“In life, you don’t soar to the level of your hopes and dreams, you stay stuck at the level of your self-worth. You don’t rise to what you believe is possible, you fall to what you believe you’re worthy of.”

Jamie Kern Lima

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Each of the books mentioned is highlighted in the text title.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 68 Important Life- lessons from Children’s Books

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 69 Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 72 Inspirational Teachers in Children’s Books

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: Inspired Together Teachers 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?

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.

This post may use affiliate links. If you purchase an item through our link, we will receive a small portion of the profit with no extra cost to you. This helps us to pay for the costs of bringing this free podcast to our community.

Embracing Change Ep. 55

March 13, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Embracing Change S. 4 E. 55

Listen to this episode to learn how to make embracing change easier.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

When talking about a change, have you ever heard that that you should just “deal with it”? Or have you heard people tell you to just “accept” the change? If you were to move past dealing with or accepting change and instead began to embrace change, how would it look and feel different? In this episode, the final in a four part series about the topic of change, we will explore ways that you can embrace the changes that come your way in your work and home life.

As always, we share stories and discussion that is not included in the show notes. For the full discussion, please listen to the podcast.

In this episode:

For the last three episodes we have been exploring change. In episode 52 we talked about preparing for change. In episode 53 we explored mindsets and habits about change. Episode 54 got us thinking about which changes to fight and now we are here at the final change episode…focused on embracing change.

What does it mean to embrace change?

Embracing change is more than just accepting it, dealing with it, or grudgingly living with it.

Embracing change means that we acknowledge that change is always present and it is going to be a part of our lives.

It means knowing that change is here and more is coming and that change can bring about new ideas, benefits and improvements to our lives, even though change can sometimes be difficult. Embracing change means that we recognize all the ways that change has made, and continues to make our lives better.

This doesn’t mean that we never have doubts and fears about change. What it does mean, though, is that we acknowledge that doubts and fears are expected but so are benefits and wins from the changes as well.

This is not just about getting through the next initiative, we need to learn to navigate change gracefully. Even if you don’t feel you are navigating the change gracefully, you can look it.

We are reminded of the duck story. On the surface of the water, everything looks smooth, even if down below the water where you can’t see, the duck’s feet are moving quickly. The same is true of change, sometimes you don’t see things that are happening underneath the surface.

What does this change make possible?

When embracing change, you can focus on the question, “What does this make possible?”. Sometimes good things ARE possible with change.

Our world is a better place because of change. Think of the technological and medical changes that have improved our length and quality of life.

Leadership coach Jim Rohn said, “Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.”

It can be easy to see the difficulties brought about by certain changes while overlooking all the good that change can bring. By asking “What does this change make possible?” we are looking for the positives and possibilities, not just the negatives or inconveniences.

What does embracing change look like?

How you embrace change, and make a conscious decision to look for the possibilities, will be unique to you.

Here are just a few good suggestions for embracing change:

Write down, list, and journal about opportunities and positives that can potentially come about because of this change. We both often talk about the ways that journaling helps us understand our thoughts. It can also help you realize what you are afraid of or why you are so angry. It can also be a way to vent.
Having a positive attitude, be confident and remain optimistic is a choice. It is about making an intention choice. For example, when personal development trainer Brendan Burchard walks into meeting, he says, “I will bring the joy.”
Commit yourself to the change. This means not putting your head in the sand. You decide to make a commitment. When we commit, we are much more likely to follow through. Our actions follow our beliefs.
Look for new skills you can learn or develop because of the change. Is this an opportunity to grow? How might this change help you personally or professionally in the future? For example, if you have an involuntary transfer to a different grade level, how will this help you develop into a better and ultimately more valuable teacher?
Ask questions to better understand the reasoning for the change and your part in the change. Really listen to the rationale for the change without letting your reservations get in the way. Go in with an open mind. What does this questioning and listening help you to do? It helps you to build perspective and trying to understand.
Listen to people who don’t think like you, try to understand their perspective. Ask good questions. Make sure this isn’t a bigger picture that you aren’t seeing.
Seek support if you need it from your star system. Your star system is the constellation of people around you who support you, make you better, and help you to shine. You can vent to them, they will likely take your side, but keep the venting to a minimum and make sure you don’t play the victim in the story. Many times your people will help you to see the positives or you can ask them to help you to figure out ways to adjust.
Take care of yourself. Exercise and being active can help you be more motived and the release of hormones into your system can help you to be happier in general which can help you to reframe the change. In addition, refrain from letting your healthy eating patterns go. You can refer back to episode 16 on Real Self Care where we talk about The Stress Cycle.
From that same episode on completing the stress cycle, we talk about laughter. Laughter is a good way to complete the stress cycle. Laugh more and have a good cry if you need it.

These are just a few suggestions for ways that you can embrace change. We are sure you can think of others that you have used when life has thrown you a curve ball. We would love to know your favorite suggestions so please reach out to us to share. We love hearing from listeners who enjoy the information in this podcast and have additional suggestions so keep that communication coming.

No matter how you decide to embrace change, you will be better for choosing to see change in this light!

Recap:

As much as it would sometimes be easier to have things stay the same, they rarely do. Change happens and because of this our world is better in many ways. You can choose to deal with change or accept change. However, by embracing change, you allow yourself to see all the possibilities that change can bring. How you embrace change, and make a conscious decision to look for the possibilities, will be unique to you. The sky is the limit and there is lots of change in this world which brings many opportunities to practice embracing change.

Quote:

“Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.”

Jim Rohn

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Episode 16 Real Self Care

Episode 52 Change is Hard, Make it Easier : Prepare Yourself

Episode 53 make Change Easier by Adjusting Your Mindset and Habits

Episode 54 Is this Change Worth Fighting?

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

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Is This Change Worth Fighting? Ep. 54

March 6, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Is This Change Worth Fighting? S.4 E.54

Listen to this episode to learn when to accept change and when to fight it.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

When faced with change, do you ever find yourself wondering if this is a change worth fighting? Have you ever found yourself torn as to whether you should accept the change in front of you for what it is, or whether you should stand up and fight against the change?

It would be exhausting to fight all the changes in our lives. However, there are some battles worth fighting. In this episode we explore how to know which changes are worth your time, energy and resources to fight.

This is the third in a special four-part series where we are exploring ways to make change easier. Today we are discussing which changes to accept and which to fight.

Introduction:

“Nothing is permanent except change.” Those are the wise words of the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, around 500 B.C. They still stand true today.

Of course Heraclitus wasn’t experiencing the constant technological and pedagogical changes we face as teachers on a daily basis but some of the changes he was referencing over 2000 years ago are still around- deaths, births, marriages, job changes, and moving to a new city are just a few.

In the constant barrage of change, do you find yourself coming up with reasons why a thing won’t work? Are you poking holes in the idea before it even happens? Or do you ever just pretend it is not happening, do your own thing, and then get upset when others eventually force you to join the bandwagon?

Here is the hard truth- while some change is good, all change (whether good, bad, or indifferent) can be overwhelming. There are new things to learn, new ways of thinking to embrace and there are bound to be moments of discomfort and overwhelm. Our natural responses often want us to choose fight or flight to cope. However, with all the changes going on around us, it is important to remember that “You can’t fight them all.”

Yes, you can and should take a stand and advocate, just not for everything. If you fought all of the changes taking place in your life you would be left feeling physically and emotionally exhausted all day every day. It is not humanly possible to win the fight against every change, so you are setting yourself up for lots of failure and disappointment if you try and fight all the changes.

That is why we are dedicating this episode to choosing your battles wisely. We don’t want you to lay back and accept all changes, nor is it wise to fight them all. However, it is important to discern which battles to fight and how to best go about doing that.

How do you know when a change is worth you allocating your time, energy and possibly even resources to?

Let’s talk about some suggestions for choosing which changes to fight and also some advice to consider once you have chosen to fight a change.

Let’s start with looking at ways to discern which changes to fight.

Address only those issues that really matter.

Our first suggestion is to address only those issues that really matter.

Ask yourself, “Is this a ditch worth dying in?”

Or, ask yourself “How does this battle align with my values?”

If this change threatens something that you value, for example your family or your personal privacy, it should be more worthy of your time and attention than one that does not so closely align with what you value in your life or your work.

Knowing you only have so many days to walk on this Earth, ask yourself if the change in front of you is worth even one of the precious breaths you will take.

Is it worth 10 breaths worth of time? 10 hours of your time? 10 weeks?

Would you be willing to fight this change if it took 10 years? Your time and energy are precious commodities and you don’t want to waste these resources on a battle that does not really matter to you or the people you love.

For example, if the district is making changes to the dress code policy and several meetings have been planned to fight the change, is it worth your time for several nights away from your family? Are you okay fighting the change if it is only one meeting vs a fight that could go on with the school board for a year?

Sometimes choosing to fight a change can also cost you financial resources.

Ask yourself if fighting this change is worthy of you potentially giving of your financial resources.

There are things that really matter in your life and things that don’t.

If the change negatively impacts something you truly value, then it matters. If it only minimally impacts what you value, or doesn’t really impact what you value, then don’t fight it. Instead use the time and energy toward the things and people you value in your life.

Another suggestion is to ask yourself a series of questions to determine the pros and cons of fighting this change.

Sometimes we can be really excited about something until a friend or family member starts asking us questions, brings us back down a bit, and then we see that maybe we were just getting excited in the moment and that those questions forced us to slow down, take a deep dive into our thoughts and feelings, and maybe brought our feet back down to the ground a bit.

It is important to ask yourself some serious questions to help you discern whether or not to fight the change.

An article published by Forbes called “How to Pick Your Battles: Four Key Questions to Ask”, suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

Is this your battle to fight?

If it is someone else’s battle, or someone else’s change to fight, let them. If it is not your battle to fight, walk away. If it is your battle and it matters to you, stick with it.

For example, some parents jump into every battle their child has. The downside is that the child doesn’t learn to fight their own battles.

For example, let’s say a school committee has been formed to share the ongoing frustrations with the new reading curriculum. You are not on the committee but you feel like they are not moving fast enough. There are eight teachers on the committee. Is it your change to fight or can you leave it to them?

What difference will winning this battle make in the long term?

If you choose to put your time and energy into fighting this change, what difference will it make in the long run, even if you win the battle? If this is just one small battle in the War of Change, how important is this battle and will it be worth it for what the fight will take from you?

What happens if I lose this battle?

This is where you can run a cost and risk analysis. What happens if you give it your all and lose? What happens if you give it your all and win? Is the cost of fighting the change worth it to you if you might lose?

Here is an example. Your neighbor has made a change to their yard that is an eyesore to you. You nicely tell them you don’t like the change, and they declare they will not change it back. You do have the option to try to force them to change it back. However, if they ignore you, and you then get the homeowner’s association or the city ordinance involved, will it be worth it to be on bad terms with the person you live next to?

If you don’t fight this battle, regardless of whether you win it or lose it, will be you be able to live with yourself afterwards?

This is where your conscious comes in. This is a tough question and may just be the one to help you decide to fight a change or not. You need to be able to look in the mirror and be able to live with the decision you made.

How have changes like this impacted me or my loved ones in the past?

Think about the past, study it, but don’t be held hostage by it. In what ways is this change different than in the past? In what ways is it the same?

If you do chose to fight a change, here are a few suggestions to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible:

If you do choose to fight a change, you want to make sure that your advocacy goes as smoothly and effectively as possible. Here are a few suggestions to make sure your advocacy against the change works the best it can and takes the least amount of toll on you as possible.

Sit with the change and don’t react emotionally.

This can be really hard to do, because if something matters a lot, you can be very emotional about it. When our emotions are running high, we are probably not using our brains center of rational thought and reasoning- our pre-frontal cortex. We are likely reverting to the amygdala, which is often called the lizard brain, because it takes over in a fight for our lives and shoots out all kinds of hormones which make us fight or flee or anything else to keep us safe. We’ve all said or done something we regret when we act when our emotions are taking over.

Try to make change at the appropriate time and place and with the appropriate people in the room.

It doesn’t do a lot of good to fight a cause in the wrong circumstance or when the person or people who have the ability to fix the issue aren’t even there. If you are angry and upset about a new school board policy, it isn’t helpful to come home and yell at your family.

Have the data ready to back up what you are saying.

You need to use good and critical thinking here. Is it real data? Does it come from a reliable and knowledgeable source? Can you show the research or facts in some way? In a time of change when emotions run high, people will use opinions and pass them off as facts. This is often where we see hyperbole passed off as fact, “All the parents in the school are against this!” That is not likely a fact. A fact would be that we surveyed parents and our data showed that 76% of parents are against this. Then be ready to show your data. That makes you credible.

Generate possible solutions.

Go in to any discussion with ideas for change rather than just complaining. Administrators especially like to hear solutions rather than just complaints.

Work with a group and brainstorm.

Compromises might be a great place to start. See if you can find a middle ground to help everyone save some face and feel “ok”, if not great, about the level of change.

Have an exit strategy, a point where you can step back and step out of the fight.

The point where you are starting to feel like you are getting into this fight much more than you are willing is when you should exit. Have a strategy for this exit. For example, you might have a key phrase such as, “I am okay to step out at this point. I will cut my losses and put my efforts towards other things that matter more to me.”

Even if you have decided this is a change worth fighting, and have given it your all, there is still a chance you will lose the fight.

You will need to accept it for what it is and then move forward. Do not carry around anger or bitterness. Don’t consider the loss a reflection of yourself or your efforts. Many times, even when we want to fight something, it was never ours to win.

It is important to choose which battles you want to fight and which ones you can let go. Change is happening, you can’t fight them all, which changes will you fight?

Recap:

There are times and places to take a stand and advocate against a change. However, if we fought all of the changes taking place in our lives we would be left feeling physically and emotionally exhausted all day every day. It is important to choosing our battles against change wisely. Discerning which battles to fight and how to best go about doing that will make all the difference.

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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.

Make Change Easier by Adjusting Your Mindset and Habits Ep.53

February 28, 2024 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

Make Change Easier by Adjusting Your Mindset and Habits S.4 E.53

Check out this episode to learn how you can minimize the stress of change by adjusting your mindset and habits.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

Change. Whether good or bad, change is inevitable and can’t be ignored or avoided. How we react to change impacts our overall life and happiness.

In this special four part series, we explore ways to make change easier. In Episode 52 we discussed how we can prepare ourselves for change.

In this episode we discuss how we can create habits and mindsets to overcome change. You will likely be surprised what a difference your habits and mindset can make. We can’t wait to share what we have learned with you!

Introduction:

Change can be complex- at lot of different levels. It can impact you at the physical level, emotional level, technological level, at work, at home, and in our society and in the world.

Change is everywhere and it is inevitable.

Change can be good or bad- but even good change can cause stress. Imagine buying your dream house. It is a great change, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t stress and overwhelm with the change of learning a new town, a new neighborhood, the weird little things you learn about your house.

If you have ever moved or built a house- you may recognize the stress of having to pick out all the paint, the tiles, the flooring etc. and worrying about spending all that money and then worrying that you might not like it in the end.

The pace and purpose of change have forced us to deal with change more than ever. It can be overwhelming and emotionally and physically exhausting. You can be left with your head spinning with all the change constantly taking place.

In the last episode, episode 52, we discussed preparing ourselves for upcoming change. In this episode we explore habits and mindsets to help us when change occurs.

How you react to, and cope with change, impacts your overall life and happiness. If you are unhappy with the change, you may find that that unhappiness settles into your soul, leaving you feeling bitter or resentful in other areas of your life.

A lot of bitterness and resentfulness in people is due to their unhappiness with change or that things didn’t turn out the way they expected them to but they are too afraid of change to fix it.

You don’t want to be that person, so let’s explore mindset changes and habits to ensure that does not happen.

Address your mindset and build your resiliency muscle so it is ready when needed.

We talk a lot about mindset and resiliency on this podcast. Though it is worth mentioning here as an important way to face change, adjusting your mindset and building resiliency are good for us at all times in our lives, not just during change.

Your mindset is your set of internal beliefs about yourself and the world. Your mindset shapes how you see things and how you react to things.

For example, having a growth mindset is the belief that you understand that you can change and grow. It is NOT believing that your talents and intelligence are fixed from birth.

We now know about neuroplasticity- that the brain has the ability to adapt, change and rewire itself.

We also have beliefs around things like perfectionism, or imposter syndrome, or beliefs that certain traits about us are always true. “I am overwhelmed” can be a statement, but it can also become a mindset belief that you are always overwhelmed, that is just who you are. The same thing could apply to being late, or being unorganized.

We recommend that you check out episode 13 where we explore mindset shifts topics in more depth.

Resilience refers to our ability to adapt, bounce back, and recover from challenges, adversity, or setbacks.

Resiliency involves maintaining our mental and emotional well-being during difficult times and finding ways to effectively cope with stress and hardship. Resilience is not about avoiding difficulties and changes, it is about facing them with a positive and adaptable mindset.

We can improve our resilience by saying phrases such as the following:

“I can get through this.”

“As much as I hate this, I can survive it.”

“I’m not going to let myself be a victim.”

“I need some time to process this.”

“It is what it is.”

“I’m letting this go.”

In episode 27 we analyze and give examples of how to use these types of phrases. Acting “as if” you have the skills actually helps your brain to think you do have them! We strongly encourage you to listen to that episode- the 18 minutes are very worth it.

Individuals with positive mindsets and resiliency skills, are better equipped to address changes as they occur without becoming overwhelmed, giving up, or checking out.

The more you shift your mindset and build your resiliency, the better you will be at facing the challenges that come your way.

Set Good Habits and get rid of the bad ones.

It is important to stress that there are two parts to this suggestion- Set Good Habits AND get rid of the bad ones. It doesn’t work to just do one of them.

For example, going to the gym to develop physical strength (good habit) doesn’t make you happier if you come home and eat junk food as soon as you get home (bad habit).

In the TEDx Talk The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong Amy Morin, a psychotherapist, editor-in-chief of Verywell Mind, and author of several books, discusses what mentally strong people do. Amy Morin faced several back-to-back struggles which got her thinking seriously about what it takes to be mentally strong when faced with adversity.

Amy identifies a few common destructive beliefs and habits that hold us back (and she stresses that even if they are small, they are holding us back):

We may have unhealthy mindset beliefs about ourselves.

For example a mindset belief might be that everything bad always happens to you.

This leads to a habit of self- pity, which magnifies your problems. Constantly saying things like, “Why does this always happen to me?” Is a problem because if you are too busy wallowing in your misfortune, you don’t have the time, energy or vision to make your life better.

Your belief becomes a bad habit of declaring how unfair the world is to you. The more you look for the negative things, the more you will see them. It will perpetuate your belief.

How can we get combat this bad habit and add a new healthy habit instead?

Stop wallowing. Look for the positive. Focusing on the good that is in front of you will help you to see less of the negative.

Work through it. Use positive self talk, not negative self-talk. For example, “someone ran into my car and made a dent. It was not my fault. I didn’t cause it. Insurance will pay for it. It is what it is.”

That is very different than, “why do bad things already happen to me.” It shows that you are accepting something that you can’t control.

Another negative mindset belief is that we may have is unhealthy beliefs about others.

We think others can control us so we give away our power. When we say we “have to” do something, we give away our power. Or, when you say that someone “drives me crazy” you are giving away your power to that person. Your words are a bad habit. You are allowing yourself to give away power.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “ No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” If you are feeling bad about what someone else is doing, you are giving that person power. You are allowing them to make you feel bad.

Are your habits allowing others to have power over you?

How can we combat this bad habit to add a good one?

Instead of saying, “ I have to write these lesson plans and turn them in”, say, “ I’m going to write good lesson plans and turn them in.” This puts you in control.

When a student is constantly talking out of turn, instead of saying, “she drives me crazy,” think of a proactive way to address the problem. Say, “I am going to quietly meet with this student, and explain why her behavior is bothering me and others. Then I am going to ask for her cooperation. We are going to come up with a signal I will use to address her talking out of turn. At the end of the day, we’ll assess whether she did a better job and I will congratulate her and encourage her. She is getting the attention she needs and I am building a better habit that will lead to positive results.”

This is a proactive way of dealing with a problem, rather than just complaining.

Comparing yourself to others is another bad mental habit.

Social media can be a cause of negative comparison. You have probably all felt it. Some people have even given up their social media because it causes them to do negative comparison.

Accept yourself for who you are. Rather than compare yourself to others, just compare to yourself yesterday or in the past.

We can have unhealthly mindset beliefs about the world.

We may think the world owes us something so we are disappointed when we think it doesn’t follow through. “I worked so hard “or “I have been a good person” so “why won’t this work for me?”

This mindset belief can lead to bad habits. You might give up because you feel powerless. You might stop engaging with others or sharing your ideas because it seems meaningless. Those habits won’t help you get what you want.

How can we combat this bad habit and add a good one instead?

Accept that life doesn’t owe you. Yes, you won’t be rewarded for being a good person but you also then realize the world isn’t against you.

Change the world for the better for you, not for any expectations that karma will pay you back. There is self-satisfaction in doing what you think is important. If you have ever done a good deed anonymously, you know the power of that feeling. It makes you feel good.

When faced with the stressful situations of change, you can also increase your good habits around self care and maybe learn a few new ones.

Real self-care involves …

setting boundaries
learning to treat yourself with compassion
making choices that bring you closer to your true self
living a life aligned with our values

Other good habits that we have talked about before but that are worth repeating are:

Gratitude-spend time everyday thinking about the things that went well that day, rather than the bad habit of complaining about all the things that didn’t go well.

Visualizing– use visualize to plan how you want your life to be, rather than just drifting along and accepting things that happen to you. Imagine how your life will be in this time of change.

Celebrating the moments– acknowledge yourself for what you are doing well, rather than trying to compete with someone else or berate yourself for not being good enough. Find the good and celebrate it.

Get help from friends or family-leaning into your loved ones and others who can remind you of the good rather than holding anger or resentment or stress all alone, use the power of others to help you.

Gaining new habits and getting rid of the unhealthy habits, doesn’t mean you have to get rid of ALL of your habits.

You may find peace and comfort in keeping your healthy habits and routines as you did before the change. They can give you a feeling of stability in a rocky time. For example, you may want to keep your morning routine, or going to bed at the same time, or exercising, etc. Do the things during change that help you feel good.

Jack Canfield said, “Your habits will determine your future.” May your habits in the face of change carry you through and maybe even help you to soar.

Recap:

Change will happen. What you do when you are faced with changes impacts your overall life and happiness. To avoid feelings of disappointment or bitterness from seeping into your life, it is important to examine and change our mindsets and habits. Getting rid of unhealthy habits, and replacing them with healthy habits will give you the strength, mindset and resiliency skill you need in the face of change.

Quote:

“Your habits will determine your future.”

Jack Canfield

Resources mentioned in this episode:

TEDx Talk The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong by Amy Morin

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Mindset Shift: Your Circle of Control

3 Limiting Mindset Beliefs that Will Hold You Back

Real Self-Care

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

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

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A Fresh Start: Top 10 Tips for a Great School Year S. 5 Ep.77

Listen to this episode for our top 10 best strategies and tips for a great school year!

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

Introduction:

Tip Number 10: Create a good sub folder.

Tip Number 9: Build time for yourself into every day.

Tip Number 8: Help students get to know you.

Tip Number 7: Establish positive relationships with parents and guardians from the start.

Tip Number 6: Be open to change.

Tip Number 5: Get to know students as individuals and as learners.

Tip Number 4: Create a classroom environment that you love.

Tip Number 3: Positive Notes for Days I Really Need Them

Tip Number 2: Focus on building good relationships with students.

And Finally, our top tip for getting off to a great start this school year…

Tip Number 1: Spend time building classroom community.

Recap:

Resources:

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8 Nonfiction Books that Can Change Your Life S. 5 E.75

Show Notes:

In this episode:

Why do we read nonfiction books?

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things by Adam Grant

Recap:

Quote:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

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Embracing Change S. 4 E. 55

Listen to this episode to learn how to make embracing change easier.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

In this episode:

What does it mean to embrace change?

What does this change make possible?

What does embracing change look like?

Recap:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

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Is This Change Worth Fighting? S.4 E.54

Listen to this episode to learn when to accept change and when to fight it.

Show notes:

Episode Summary:

Introduction:

How do you know when a change is worth you allocating your time, energy and possibly even resources to?

Address only those issues that really matter.

Knowing you only have so many days to walk on this Earth, ask yourself if the change in front of you is worth even one of the precious breaths you will take.

Sometimes choosing to fight a change can also cost you financial resources.

There are things that really matter in your life and things that don’t.

Another suggestion is to ask yourself a series of questions to determine the pros and cons of fighting this change.

An article published by Forbes called “How to Pick Your Battles: Four Key Questions to Ask”, suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

Is this your battle to fight?

What difference will winning this battle make in the long term?

What happens if I lose this battle?

If you don’t fight this battle, regardless of whether you win it or lose it, will be you be able to live with yourself afterwards?

How have changes like this impacted me or my loved ones in the past?

Sit with the change and don’t react emotionally.

Try to make change at the appropriate time and place and with the appropriate people in the room.

Have the data ready to back up what you are saying.

Generate possible solutions.

Work with a group and brainstorm.

Have an exit strategy, a point where you can step back and step out of the fight.

Even if you have decided this is a change worth fighting, and have given it your all, there is still a chance you will lose the fight.

Recap:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Share this:

Make Change Easier by Adjusting Your Mindset and Habits S.4 E.53

Check out this episode to learn how you can minimize the stress of change by adjusting your mindset and habits.

Show notes:

Episode Summary: