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Don’t Let Boredom Drag You Down Ep. 86

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Bored teacher falling off the sofa, Don't Let Boredom Drag You Down

Listen to this episode for ideas of how to eliminate boredom and add a little spice to your life! 

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

Do you ever feel bored?

We often think of boredom as affecting students in the classroom, or our children who complain that there is nothing to do or that everything is boring. Boredom isn’t just for kids, it also affects us!

While a slow day can be relaxing and refreshing, boredom can kill our energy and motivation. It can dullen our senses and take the joy out of life.

Living a bored life is the opposite of living an inspired life. Don’t let boredom drag you down!  Stay tuned as we share 4 ways to fight boredom so you can live an inspired life.

In this episode:

Do you ever get bored?

Michele:  I get easily bored with routines. Some people can keep the same routines day after day and it helps them thrive. I get very bored with it. The positive side of that is that I can be very flexible, the negative side is that sometimes routines help with focus and consistency, so without routines I have to work harder at being consistent. Paula, you are the queen of routines and consistency and you always use them to your advantage.

Paula: I get easily bored if I am not engaging with something. I do not sit well and don’t do well with being a passive participant in something. I get bored when I’m not engaged and then lose all motivation. I am a horrible television watcher. I can’t do it. I get too bored. I can only watch television if I am doing something else at the same time. The other day I was watching a WNBA game while peeling and canning pears. The same is true for me too for long webinars where there isn’t interaction.

In general, we are both highly motivated. We have a lot of things going on and we’re always doing things. The idea of engagement is important. We both feel the need to be engaged.

Boredom can come to us both in our personal and professional lives.

Classroom boredom can zap the energy out of your lessons and your days. When you are bored, teaching is less fun and seems to require more work. When students are bored, they aren’t engaged and classroom management issues are more likely. Boredom leads to nothing good. Boredom is often contagious and when you see it or feel it, it is time to take some kind of action.

When the boredom comes at home or in your personal life, it can zap all of your energy and enthusiasm.  Life becomes day after day of same -old, same -old, mundane and usual things. That is when you get bored. A lot of our more negative habits can show up when we are bored-

Michele: For me that would be scrolling Instagram. Once I start, it is like the path of least resistance. Sometimes I don’t even care about what I  am scrolling. I’m just looking at the pictures. I can also eat out of boredom. There’s nothing like a little guacamole for spicing up  a boring life. I read something once that said something like if there is nothing interesting in your life you can find something interesting in your refrigerator.

Paula: I also eat out of boredom! One thing I do is to play semi-mindless number or word puzzle games on my phone. I could be reading a book instead but playing those games fills time when I am waiting, usually for my children to start or end an activity.

Boredom is often contagious and when you see it or feel it, it is time to take action. We need some strategies to solve it!

Here are four ways to reduce boredom and bring new and fresh energy to your life:

Shake up your daily routines.

Have you developed a daily classroom schedule that has served you well in the past but has now become stale? You may have been teaching the same thing in the same way for years and it served you well, but now it has become a bit tired. We all get bored with doing the same old thing every day.

Michele: I always have to shake up how I teach something. I sometimes honestly wish that I could teach the same lesson in the same way over and over, because it would be easier and save planning time. I wouldn’t have to think about it. But I usually can’t do that. I need to be thinking about what I’m teaching. I switch things up.

Try a new routine. For example, if you usually start with a review, then introduce new content, then give time for students to practice, switch the order. Introduce the new content, then give students time to practice, then connect it to the old content. Try it for a day or week and see what happens. You don’t have to keep the new routine forever, but often a small switch can bring some new energy.

You can also shift your daily routine when things get boring at home. Try something different for breakfast. Move your walk to before dinner or to after dinner. Listen to a podcast while you make dinner. Thank you to all of you who are listening to our podcast while you make dinner!  Do all the laundry on Friday night so you can have Saturday free.

Paula: I switch out my activities regularly on the weekends. I make a plan to do one thing for an hour and then force myself do something else the next hour before I start to get bored. I need to do something fun in between the routine or boring things. I can always come back to it but I can avoid boredom that way.

Add variety to your life.

At school, make sure your lesson plans have a variety of activities in each lesson. Start with a short 5-minute video. Then have a ten-minute discussion. Follow that with a small group activity.

Look for new ways to actively engage your students. Focus on hands-on activities, lively discussions, or group projects. Try mixing things up.

There are many active learning strategies that can get students up and moving and actively engaged. We have a post called 4 Great Active Learning Strategies for All Content Areas for ideas such as a Wall Walk or a learning in a Speed Dating like format.

You can also think about variety at home too.

Paula: Michele, I know you are a decorator and you are going to rearrange the furniture or hang different pictures on the wall for variety. I am not that person. My mind doesn’t go there. Now that the kids are older, my husband and I find different reasons to do things at night so we aren’t just sitting at home. Last night we took the dog for a 30 minute walk. The night before, we drove down to the river to check on our boat. Sometimes we go out for ice cream after dinner. None of these things take long and they don’t happen every night, but they add variety to the evenings. I don’t want to get bored.

Michele: I like to rearrange furniture. I like to see what is possible. The same is true for changing out he décor during the different seasons. I just put out some cozy blankets and candles for fall. They are little things but it adds variety. When I do something like switch out the placements, I notice them again. It adds variety and keeps things interesting.

Paula: That is your gift. I have never rearranged my furniture. Nor have I ever switched out my placements. I can’t do that kind of variety, but I can add variety in other ways. I can make sure we eat more than tacos or meatloaf for dinner every night. I can add in a new recipe. We can go out for ice cream. I can do things that give me variety.

In the evenings or on the weekends, go someplace you’ve never been- a different park, or a local museum or a new coffee shop or restaurant. Try something to add variety to your life.

Use technology in new ways.

This one is not so difficult because there is always new technology and we are all learning new things about how to use technology.

Divide up a textbook chapter and let students share their learning by creating something with technology to show their learning. Curriculum can come alive when students are allowed to make a video, illustrate a cartoon book around the content, script a newscast or write song lyrics to demonstrate their understanding of content material. Students will also come up with their own ideas about how to show and share their learning.

Feeling adventurous? Let students experiment with AI technology such as CHATGPT. AI is here, whether we like it or not. Ultimately, teachers will have to understand it, incorporate it, and teach students to curate the content in responsible and effective ways. One fifth grade teacher in Kentucky instructed his students to try to outwit the bot by figuring out which articles were written by the bot.

Paula: I actually sat in on a great AI session the other day and have lots of new ideas. For the classroom, have AI explain a concept the way a 5th grader would. Then have a 5th grader in your class explain it. See how close they were or have the class guess which answer was the 5th grader and which was AI. They are getting multiple exposures of the content with this one activity.

Michele: I’m still thinking about possible ways to use technology in new ways at home. I’ve been exploring apps on my apple watch. You can now run your whole life from your watch. I’m setting up Apple pay- I know I am very late to the game, but I didn’t trust it for a long time. Now it seems like the most secure way to pay- especially on a trip or away from home- you don’t have to get cards out of your wallet. I am also learning Italian with Duolingo. I really like it and am having success with it.

Paula: I have a co-worker who is using AI to plan their weekly meal and create the grocery list. AI will spit out all the meal plans, the directions for cooking and the grocery list and then you can adapt them. I love that idea. Other friends are having AI create a fun trivia nights for their groups of friends when they get together. When I was with college friends this summer, one had an AI type app that generated song snippets and we all played Name that Song. AI created everything!

There are so many ways to keep yourself from getting bored with technology!

Do something that is engaging to eliminate boredom. 

When we are bored, we are less engaged. That means we’re less motivated to do something.

What we need is something that is more engaging.

When writing lesson plans, put on the perspective of students and see if you can answer questions such as, “so what?”,  “who cares?”,  and “what does this have to do with me?”.  That will put a little spin on it and make you think about how you can become more engaging.

Bring in real world examples and have students connect the material the material to their lives. Then give them tasks which allow them to apply the material in meaningful ways.

Relevance will help to increase motivation, encourage students to think critically about the material, and can help create a more engaging learning environment. You have all experienced sitting through PD that wasn’t relevant to you. You know how bored you become. If you find that your teaching is not relevant, try ways to make it more relevant. That will instantly make it more engaging and less boring.

Doing something engaging in your personal life also helps with boredom.

Michele: If I am bored, usually I need to engage in one of two things. Sometimes I need to read, because reading engages me and gives me ideas and inspiration. It is difficult for me to be bored when I am reading something I am interested in.

The other thing that I often need is to spend time with a friend. Even just having coffee will get me out of the house and into an interaction with someone. Or on the weekends we will meet up with friends and it always gives me something new to think about, it’s a new environment and a new place and usually involves laughing. If you are laughing, you are not likely feeling bored.

Paula: I need to connect with people too. My book club engages my mind. I have dinner or coffee with different groups of friends.  In some discussions we lightly talk about fun things, others are more serious and intellectual. I love them all. They have to be positive or I find myself disengaging. However, intellectual, caring, positive  conversations with friends and family I love eliminates boredom for me.

Conclusion:

When you  are feeling bored consider it an opportunity to rethink your plans. An inspiring life means never having to live with boredom. Even making small shifts can have big payoffs in your enjoyment and happiness.

Recap:

Boredom can zap the fun and enjoyment out of life. Shaking up your routine, adding some variety, using technology in new ways and doing something that engages you are all things that get you out of boredom and back into enjoying your life.

Do you need to shake things up in your life?

Would you like to take back your life from overwork and too much time spent on other people’s agendas? 

We have a free resource to help you, The Inspired Teacher’s Guide to Taking Back Your Life.  You can get your free copy by filling out the box below. We will be sure to send it right to your email.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

4 Great Active Learning Strategies for All Content Areas

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

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.

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.

 

4 Tried and True Ways to Increase Student Engagement Ep. 78

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4 Tried and True Ways to Increase Student Engagement  S. 5 Ep. 78

young boy excited to learn, 4 Tried and True Ways to Increase Student Engagement

Check out this episode and learn ways to get students excited about learning and increase student engagement! 

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: 

Do you ever wish that your students were more engaged, that they cared more about what they were learning or that they would take learning more seriously? If so, you might need to increase student engagement.

Let’s face it, it is more fun and less stressful to teach students who are engaged. When students are engaged, you have fewer behavior challenges. Your lessons run more smoothly, and you accomplish more in less time. Students complete tasks and turn in their assignments. They also remember more of what they learned. Does that sound like a dream?  It’s possible. In this episode we’re talking about tried and true ways you can increase student engagement.

In this episode: 

It is more fun and less stressful to teach students who are actively engaged. When your students are engaged, there are fewer behavior challenges. Discussions are fluid and energizing. Your lessons run smoothly and you accomplish more in less time. Students will complete tasks and turn in their assignments. They will also likely remember more of what they learned. The chances are that when students are engaged, they are also having more fun and enjoying learning!

What’s not to love about that?

We are always excited to talk about student engagement because few things are better in teaching than watching students when they are fully engaged in their learning.

Today we explore these 4 tips to increase student engagement in more detail:

First, take a lesson from the business world. Before you shut off the podcast, trust us on this one. You will understand why in just a few minutes. The second tip is build and activate a learning strategy toolbox so you can plan engaging lessons. We will also explore our third tip which is about switching up the learning environment. Finally, we will talk about the importance of adding joy to the classroom.

These 4 tips will help you to increase student engagement exponentially.

Engagement Tip 1: Take a lesson from the business world.

One of our favorite authors is Dan Pink, the author of Drive and A Whole New Mind , both which we have referenced on other podcast episodes, among other best sellers. In his New York Times bestselling book Drive- The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, Pink looked at four decades of research on motivation and then summarized into one book for business leaders to help them keep their employees motivated, satisfied, and performing at their highest levels.

What Pink learned has direct application to the classroom. Basically, in order for people to be motivated to work and learn and be engaged in what they’re doing, they must feel a sense of autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Once those three things are incorporated, motivation and engagement skyrocket and management issues decrease. Let’s take just a minute to talk about autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy

Autonomy means that students have some say in what they are doing or learning. They don’t need total control, but they need to make some of their own choices. This might be setting their own learning goals, choosing which learning materials to use, or choosing between several types of projects. You might give them a choice in partners or groups, a choice in tasks, or a choice in which book they read.

Students will still need some sort of accountability, but giving them some say in what they do will greatly increase the chances that they will do it.

Teachers are sometimes nervous about giving students control, thinking that they will lose control, but the opposite happens. Students don’t need ALL the choices, they just need some choices. Teachers can control the choices.

Daniel Pink offers this advice: Control leads to compliance, autonomy leads to engagement. 

Mastery

The second thing that creates engagement is the opportunity for mastery.

Engagement leads to mastery. Think about it, did you ever really master anything without being engaged in it?  We’ve all had the experience of memorizing something for a test, only to forget it the minute we walk out the door. That is not mastery.

Mastery is the ability to get better and better at something that matters. Our educational standards require students to master skills. What can teachers do to increase mastery?

  • Make sure tasks are not too easy or too challenging.
  • Give students time to get into flow, time where they can focus and work on a task uninterrupted.
  • Make work look like play. There is often joy in the pursuit of a goal. Have you ever been so involved in something that you lost all track of time? Learning and work and enjoyment are not mutually exclusive!
  • Encourage a growth mindset where students believe that with effort, they can get better and better at something.

For example, think of kids and gaming, where they work hard trying to reach the next level. Or think of adults with golf, or completing their step rings on their watch. It becomes a competition with yourself to keep getting better and better and reach the next level. It is why professional musicians who are at the top of their profession keep practicing for hours a day. It is also why athletes keep running, or keep shooting hundreds of baskets every day. They are going for mastery.

Purpose

The third aspect of motivation from Daniel Pink’s discussion is purpose.

When students understand the purpose for their learning, they are more motivated to learn. Students are less likely to engage when they view work as a waste of time. Can students answer the question, “why is this important?” If so, they understand the purpose of the lesson.

Tell students the objectives of the lesson. Share the outcomes. Show them the learning standard.  However, that is not enough, standards can seem dry and unimportant without context. Make sure students know what they are going to learn. Tell them and post it on the board. For example, you could use this prompt:

“Today you are going to learn to…” Then make sure students understand how they will use this information or why it is important.

This piece creates relevance. When students understand how they might use something, or how it will help them in the future, or how it will improve their skills such as critical thinking or the ability to analyze, they will be more likely to buy in to the activity.

You could say, “Here are some of the ways you will use this information or skill in the future…”

Or, better yet, ask students how they think the information or skill will be useful in their future.

You can increase student engagement by paying attention to autonomy, mastery and purpose. It is not just a solution for the business world. It is also a powerful formula to increase student engagement.

Engagement Tip 2: Build an active learning strategy toolkit so you can plan engaging lessons

Are you using active learning strategies in your classroom? Teachers who are looking to build engagement are always adding new active learning strategies to their toolbox and then using these strategies when planning to make sure their lessons are engaging. A great active learning can usually be used in any curriculum area and across different grade levels.

We love active learning strategies and have written several blog posts with our favorite active learning strategies, all of which we will link in the show notes so you can have easy access to them. Most of our favorite active learning strategies can be completed in 10-15 minutes.

Here are four of our favorite active learning strategies:

Walk the Walls 

This strategy works as a strategy to get students ready to learn new content or as a way to review what they have read or discussed. It is a good warm-up and generally takes 10-15 minutes.

Determine a set of 6-8 questions related to the day’s lesson. For example:

Which mammals have you seen in person? (3rd grade science)

Why do you think enslaved people joined the confederate army? (9th grade US History)

How do you think you would have reacted to finding an abused dog? (5th grade reading)

What are some different ways to greet someone in Spanish?  (1st year Spanish)

Gather 6-8 large pieces of paper. Place one question on each sheet. Place the sheets on the walls around the room. Instruct students to take a marker or pen and walk around the room quietly writing their answers on each sheet. When time is up, discuss their answers.

Speed Dating (or for elementary students “Line Learning”)

Prepare a list of questions for discussion. The questions can help to introduce new content or review previously learned content.

Have students stand in two lines, facing each other.

Set a time limit, such as one minute. Determine which line will talk first and which line will listen. Ask a question. Students have one minute to talk about the answer with the person facing them. Then reverse speakers. For the next question, have one row move one place to the right so that each person is facing a new partner. The person on the end goes to the other end of the line. Repeat.

In addition to these strategies, remember you can always add small engagement elements to your toolbox and lessons as attention grabbers, community builders, and learning disguised as fun. For example, introduce a lesson on states of matter by playing music from the movie Frozen. Then conduct experiments with ice, snow, and water.

Engagement tip 3: Switch up the environment.

Too much time in the same environment can make anyone feel restless. New and unique environments can increase engagement dramatically. There are many ways to switch up the environment without abandoning your curriculum or academic standards.

Consider what you can do to switch up the environment:

  • Move to a different space for a lesson or a day- consider going outside. On beautiful weather days, if students are staring out the window longingly, let’s face it, you probably are as well! Consider how you could take all or part of the lesson outside. Or could individual student work portion of a lesson be done in the hallway? Could you go on a nature walk or use sidewalk chalk to practice spelling words or math problems?
  • Change up your classroom. Rearrange the desks. Add a reading tent in the corner. Make your bulletin board and interactive board where kids can engage with the classroom content.
  • Bring in more “things”. Let the students see, feel, hear, touch and maybe even taste what you are learning about. These can be used for manipulatives in learning and can help students see relevance.
  • Add “Walk and Talks”. Have students pair up. Give them an assigned topic to discuss. Often you can use the discussion questions you would have used with the entire class. Have them walk and talk in your school hallway or outside about the question for a minute or two, then switch partners. Bring them back to a large group to share their insights. Repeat as time allows. This activity is also great for language classes when students must talk in the language they are learning!

We do want to remind you to be clear and specific in setting your behavior expectations and directions when you switch up your environment. For example, you might say something like, “I know we would all like to work outside today. Before we can do that, I need you to agree to follow my rules and behavior expectations. First, while we are outside, you promise to focus on doing the work of the lesson. When I call for your attention, you promise to stop and listen to directions. If you do not follow these rules, we will immediately return to the classroom. Please raise your hand if you can agree to these rules.”

Engagement tip 4: Add joy to your classroom.

Joy helps students love learning. If students love learning, they will be engaged. Joy encourages creativity, which opens the door for creative problem solving. Joy encourages curiosity and self-motivated learning.

Here are just a few of our favorite ways to increase joy in the classroom:  

  • Try to incorporate laughter into your lessons. Laughing reduces stress. Look for opportunities to inject humor into the day’s activities. Offer to tell a joke if students line up quickly and quietly. Get a joke book if you need one. Telling a joke takes less than 30 seconds and adds fun. We all remember a teacher who told corny jokes. Notice that we remember that teacher.
  • Add Music. There are songs that fit into all areas of the curriculum. Check out You Tube for songs about multiplication or grammar from School House Rock. Better yet, let students work in groups to write and perform their own songs based on their topic of study. Music brings about engagement and as a bonus, it also helps with retention!
  • Read funny literature. When you are reading aloud to your students or finding literature to incorporate into your lessons, look for and choose funny stories. When students have positive experiences with literature, they learn that reading is fun. If reading is fun, they will be more likely to do more of it.

Joyful classrooms are less stressful, less anxious places. Neurological studies have shown that students’ comfort levels can influence long-term information storage and transmission. Teachers and students face many challenges in today’s educational climate. Living without joy does not have to be one of them.

Recap: 

We often hear that students today aren’t engaged. The days of “sit and get” learning are in the past. By understanding how autonomy, mastery, and purpose lead to motivation, and by following up with lessons that include fun and actively engaging activities you can increase students’ engagement and maximize learning in your classroom.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

4 Great Active Learning Strategies for All Content Areas

Mix and Match Active Learning Strategy

8 Simple Ways to Create a Joyful Classroom

Related Podcast Episodes

Inspired together Teachers Podcast Episode 2: What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Motivation

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

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.

 

Inspirational Teachers In Children’s Books Ep. 72

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Inspirational Teachers In Children’s Books  S. 5 E. 72

Book teachers mrs. Frizzel and Mr. Faulker, Inspirational Teachers in Children's Books

Check out this episode to hear about some beloved and inspirational teachers in children’s books and learn what they have to teach us as teachers. insert podcast link to player here

Show notes: 

Episode Summary:

Could you use a little inspiration from some fabulous fictional teachers to renew your passion for teaching? Maybe you would love a guide to help you work with children with differing abilities, or another teacher to help you devise a plan to improve your classroom. Perhaps you could use a good teacher role model for how to handle difficult situations.

In this episode we’re talking about our favorite teachers in children’s books. In a world where teachers are often maligned and underappreciated, these teachers are fun, clever, imaginative, effective, and yes, even a little magical.

Who are these amazing teachers?  We think you will recognize some old friends and make some new acquaintances.

Listen in for some great tips from beloved teachers in children’s books.

In this episode:

In Episode 68 we shared important life lessons we can learn from characters in children’s books.

Today, we are back with some lessons we can all learn from fantastic teachers in children’s books. If you are listening to this live, it is summer and you might find yourself with time to read a few children’s or YA books. The following amazing teachers have traits that make them good role models for teachers.

Mr. Slinger  in Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse  by Kevin Henkes

Mr. Slinger is cool. He is sharp as a tack and wears artistic shirts. His classroom includes a writing center called “The Lightbulb Lab… Where Great Ideas are Born.”

One day Lily comes to school excited about her new purple plastic purse that holds jangling coins and plays jaunty tunes. When she can’t stop sharing, Mr. Slinger takes her purse and puts it away until the end of the day. Lily writes Mr. Slinger a terrible letter. He handles it with grace and understanding. We love Mr. Slinger, who manages to be both firm and kind, and is not above joining in with a little dancing.

See also, music teacher Mrs. Twinkle in Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

Mr. Falker in Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

Trisha is a fifth grader who struggles to read and suffers from taunting by the other children. Feeling stupid, she hides at recess, until the new teacher, Mr. Falker discovers her. Mr. Falker takes her under his tutelage and helps her to understand that she isn’t dumb. He recognizes her artistic talent and helps her to understand her value. With the help of many after school tutoring sessions, Mr. Falker teaches her to read and ultimately changes her life.

We love Mr. Falker because he does not give up on kids.

The last page?  We dare you not to cry.

Mrs. Peterson in The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

As if writing about one brilliant teacher wasn’t enough, Polacco gives us another amazing teacher in Mrs. Peterson. Mrs. Peterson is the teacher in a special education classroom known as “The Junkyard.”  She recognizes the special gifts of her students and brings out the genius in them. She understands that a junkyard is a place with wondrous possibilities, and makes the students understand that they are full of potential.

Mrs. Peterson turns a class into a community of learners. They support each and work together in project based learning. Most importantly, she helps them to believe in themselves.

Miss Nelson in Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard

Miss Nelson is sweet and kind, but her class begins to take advantage of her good nature. One day she is absent, and there is a substitute- the mean and terrifying Miss Viola Swamp!

As the children experience the unforgiving Miss Swamp, they learn to appreciate Miss Nelson. But where is she?  We’re not telling…but it involves a diabolical scheme!

We love the way Miss Nelson solves a challenge with a bit of creativity!  There is a lesson in that for all of us!

Miss Frizzle in the Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan

What’s not to love about Miss Frizzle?  Science and history have never been more fun. What does Miss Frizzle have that makes her special?  She has wild red hair, amazing clothes that relate to her lessons and of course…a magic school bus. The fabulous Frizz leads the students on outlandish field trips…to the solar system or through the inside of the human body. In later years she rocked ancient history, exploring Imperial China, ancient Egypt and a medieval castle.

We might never be as cool as the Frizz… but  she inspires us to try to make learning come alive for our students. She sparks curiosity in her students, and that is a great way to inspire learning!

Miss Agnes in The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. 

When a remote Alaskan village loses its teacher, the community wonders if school will be closed. In walks Miss Agnes, a skinny woman who wears pants and has “a little mileage on her.”

In this historical fiction book, Miss Agnes is a woman ahead of her time. She carts away the old, decrepit textbooks. She brings out art supplies and music. She connects with the children and their families, valuing their culture and knowledge. She invites in a child who has been left out of school because she has a physical disabilities.  She also teaches some of the elders of the community. She individualizes lessons, teaching students skills when the students are ready. She believes in the power of learning.

In the classroom of Miss Agnes, learning is meaningful, reading comes alive and people understand how knowledge can transform you.

Mrs. Granger in Frindle by Andrew Clements

Mrs. Granger is the teacher we all love to hate. She is strict. She is old-fashioned. She is unrelenting. Mrs. Granger has x-ray vision. And she loves the dictionary.

Nick is smart and rambunctious. He likes to liven things up and cause a little disturbance.

Don’t we all know some children like Nick?  They are full of energy and mischief and you can’t help but both love them and get frustrated by their antics.

When Nick discovers that we all have a role in changing language, he decides to test the idea by inventing the word “frindle”, which is a synonym for pen.

A battle between Nick and Mrs. Granger ensues. Who has the power to determine what words mean?

The final lesson is worth waiting for and you see the magic of a teacher’s influence!

Miss Edmunds in Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Miss Edmunds is different from everyone else at school. Some call her a hippie. Miss Edmunds is a free spirit who sings folk songs and plays guitar. She is the kind of music teacher who lets children try different instruments and sing with abandon.

Jess loves Miss Edmunds. She encourages his drawing talent and takes him to an art museum. More importantly, Jess feels safe with her. She understands him. She won’t crush his dreams or stifle his imagination. She is a kindred spirit for a soul who desperately needs one.

We all need a Miss Edmunds in or lives, someone who believes in us and sees our potential. Some teachers have the power to save students by building relationships, and watching Miss Edmunds is a master class in building relationships with students.

Miss Stretchberry in Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

We never officially meet her

Miss Strechberry

We see her through the poetry of Jack

reluctant writer

Jack writes poems

Miss Stretchberry guides him

with a gentle hand

and no pressure

and Jack’s poems

shine.

         see also Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech.

Madame Poitier from Sahara Special by Esmé Raji Codell

The new teacher, Madame Poitier, also known as Miss Pointy, is a breath of fresh air. She wears sparkly dragonfly barrettes, brings flowers and a red lamp to school, and teaches classes with names like “Time Travelers” and “Mad Scientists.” She teaches children to leave their troubles at the door and all of her rules begin with “yes.”  She focused on social and emotional learning before it was a thing.

We think that Miss Pointy is a thinly veiled description of the author herself, known for the book she wrote about her first year of teaching Educating Esmé.  That is a good thing, because Esmé is also one of our superheroes. We’ve had the chance to meet her in person and she is everything a good teacher should be!

Who are your favorite teachers in children’s books?  We would love to hear about them in the comments below.

And if you’d like a reading list of 25 Great Books About Teachers That Every Teacher Should Read, fill out the form below:

Recap:

The world of children’s and young adult books is filled with good teacher role models. Thanks for joining us today to learn from Frizzle, Falker, and other fabulous teachers in children’s books.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

All books we referred to in this episode are linked in the headlines above.

This post uses 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.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 68 Important Life Lessons from Beloved Children’s Books

Inspired Together Teachers Podcast episode 69 Our Best Summer Reading Suggestions

 

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: Inspired Together Teachers  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?

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Why Kids Don’t Do What You Tell Them to Do Ep.58

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Why Kids Don’t Do What You Tell Them to Do  S.4 E.58

children playing with a tin can telephone, Why Kids Don't Do What You Tell Them to Do

Listen to this episode to learn 10 reasons why kids don’t do what you tell them to do. 

Show Notes: 

Episode Summary:

Do you ever feel the exasperation of asking kids to do something only for it to fall on deaf ears? These “kids” could be your students at school or your family members at home. They could be young children or teenagers. No matter the age, do you find yourself wishing they would just do what you ask so life could be easier? We don’t have all of the answers to this age-old dilemma, but in this episode we share some useful suggestions to decrease your frustration and get you and the kids in your life more in sync.

In this episode:

We’ve all felt the exasperation of asking students or children in our lives to do something only for it to fall on deaf ears.

As a teacher, this likely happens to you at school several times per day, regardless of whether you teach the littles, the elementary aged kids, the middle schoolers, or the teens.

If you are a parent, or beloved auntie or uncle, this probably happens at home on the regular as well.

Giving so many directions in a day, with so many opportunities for a non-response from the children in your life, can really build up your frustration level.

Our first response when we get no action from a child after a direction is given, is usually to repeat our direction, which often results in more non-action, until finally we resort to yelling or letting our frustration clearly show in our voices even if we don’t yell. We hate that we have succumbed to yelling, nagging, or showing our disapproval through our voice tone and they hate it too.

Why don’t students do what we ask of them? If we could figure it out, it might lead us to another, better way of communicating.

Today we will explore 10 reasons why the kids in your world might not be listening and how you can best communicate your expectations in a way they will understand. This is not an exhaustive list, but it will give you some things to think about when you feel frustrated when children don’t do what you ask.

1) They didn’t process the request. 

This is particularly true of very young children. If you ask a three year old to go to the corner of the room, pick up her toys and put them on the shelf, you are not likely to get compliance. You lost her in the three part direction- she heard “go in the corner of the classroom,” where you find her happily dumping out a bin of blocks.

Many older children also have processing delays; they hear part of the request and forget the rest. Try giving simple directions. Use picture clues such as signs. Another idea is to give cues. For example, before we can go to lunch there are three things I need you to do. Listen for the three things. First…  then second… then lastly…  Ask children to repeat the directions.

2) They didn’t hear the request.

Let’s face it, it is a noisy world.

Have you ever said something to someone, only to realize that they couldn’t hear you?

Maybe a child has still has their ear buds in from their time on the computer. Maybe there is a lot of peripheral noise. Many people have difficulty hearing in a noisy environment. At school, today’s classrooms often include multiple teachers working with multiple groups. Excessive noise can be a challenge.

Make sure you have attention before giving a request. Use hand or light signals. Look them in the eye. Try a loud whisper or a catchy call back to attract attention. If they don’t hear you, they can’t comply with your request.

3) They don’t understand the reason for the request.

As much as we might like to think “because I said so” is a good reason, children often respond well to a request when they understand the motivation for the task. Saying ” I don’t want you to walk around the classroom right now” becomes a challenge to be contested. Explaining that you don’t want them to walk around the classroom at the moment because you are giving important directions that will help them with their homework works better.

Children might see a fire drill as an opportunity to talk to their friends. When the teacher explains that it is important that they to be quiet so that she can listen for fire safety personnel or to hear if someone needs help, they are likely to move through the halls quietly. Whenever possible, give children reasons why you want them to do something.

4) The task is too challenging. 

This might not apply to simple tasks such as asking a child to put on her shoes, but it often applies to tasks such as homework. A struggling reader might shut down when confronted with the task of reading a long chapter of a book that is beyond their reading level. A child who feels that playing a musical instrument is too hard or the requested practice time is too long will not practice.

In the classroom, children may not understand the directions and give up if the work seems too difficult. For many students, it feels better to not complete work than try it and fail. They would rather be known as a trouble maker than as a failure.

Make sure work is at a level that is not too easy, but also not too hard. Encourage students by helping them to understand that trying and doing something wrong is an opportunity for learning.

5) The task is not challenging enough.

Students often reject tasks that are not challenging as “boring” or a “waste of time.” If a student can successfully complete ten two digit subtraction problems, do they really need to complete 100 more?  Our brains like novelty and interesting things. Rote copying of answers directly from the textbook to the paper does not stimulate interest  or curiosity. Whenever possible, make sure tasks have some level of challenge.

Sometimes we do need to do repetitious or boring tasks. Anyone who has ever played airplane to get a small child to eat vegetables understands the power of fun and novelty. When you ask children to pick up the classroom, turn on the timer on your phone to make it a game. See if they can beat their best time. Practicing spelling words?  See if you can find ten different ways to spell them- with a pen, by writing with your hand on someone’s back, writing with your foot by making letters in the air…

In Episode 46 of this podcast, which is titled “What’s stopping you from achieving your goals” we referenced the research of Edwin Locke, a psychologist who spent decades study goal setting. His research applies here as well. He found that challenging goals improve performance more than easy ones. As Locke and other researchers have discovered, there is a sweet spot for challenge when setting a goal. People who set goals that are too easy, are actually less likely to achieve them. However, if you set the goal so high that it is nearly impossible to meet, you will quickly lose motivation. You need to find the “Goldilocks” of challenge level for your specific goal. We see a direct connection to asking students to do something. You need to give them challenge so they are more likely to achieve it but not so much that they think, “I’m never going to be able to do this, so why should I even try?”

6) They are meeting a personal need. 

After talking with your class about the importance of using kind words when disagreeing, you find out that after school one of your students used unkind words to exclude another student from her social group. The exclusionary language might have been a method for your student to gain peer approval or social status from other students. Her need for peer approval is higher than the need for teacher approval, so she doesn’t do what you asked.

Playground fighting is another example of how children demonstrate a personal need. You’ve talked with a student who is fighting with his peers at recess. He continues to fight. He might be fighting to meet a need for power; as long as he can hit other kids, he feels powerful.

When a child’s behavior is caused by their desire to meet a particular need, often you can help the child figure out a better way to get their needs met. Ask questions. What does it mean to be “popular” and how else can you gain popularity?  Likewise, what other things could a child do to feel more powerful? What opportunities could you find to give a child power in positive ways?

7) They feel a need for autonomy.

No one, including children, likes to be controlled 100% of the time. Think about how you feel when you are micromanaged. You like to have some control over your tasks and how they are done. Children do as well.

If children never have choices, they may refuse to cooperate with requests. Children who don’t complete homework despite adult requests may perform better if they are taught to set up a schedule and to choose which homework to do first. Many students will take more responsibility for their work when they are allowed to chose a datebook or planner and keep track of their own work. If children are used to someone else constantly dictating what they do and when they do it, they are not likely to want to or be able to manage without that constant reminder. Children need to be taught skills that will allow them to be independent.

8)  They don’t like or respect you.

It is human nature to resist doing something for someone we don’t like. Children are often reluctant to do something for someone they don’t respect. Many adults believe that they deserve respect just by being adults, but many children and adolescents don’t see it that way. Respect is more of a two -way street. It is given and earned on both ends.

If you think that respect is at the heart of the issue, ask yourself why. What can you do to build respect?  The way to solving this problem is by building relationships. Do you treat the young person with respect?  Do you ask about and care about their experiences and feelings? Do you listen to them?  Do you take their perspective into consideration?  Building relationships takes time, but is worth it.

9) The timing of the request is off.

Sometimes, students fail to complete a request because the time is not right. For example, students might not complete homework directly after school because they are hungry or thirsty or need some physical activity after a long day of sitting. Being extremely tired is another reason for slacking; think of how much work you get done when you are very tired.

In Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, our basic needs, such as the need for food, water, air and sleep come before anything else. Take these needs into consideration before asking children to comply with a task.

10)  They are suffering from trauma.

After the most basic human needs for survival, Maslow’s next step tells us that we must feel physically and emotionally safe before we can learn or attend to other tasks.

Children who have or who are experiencing trauma have bigger issues than following directions. Their safety needs must be met before they can work on other things. They may not be able to focus on your directions because the trauma is impacting their learning and behavior. There are no quick fixes here but creating a safe space and building relationships with the student are crucial.  Do your best to get to the bottom of the issue, and get help from a professional such as a school counselor, social worker, mental health professional or a physician. You can also research trauma-informed teaching to learn strategies to get you started.

Recap:

It can be extremely frustrating, discouraging and even exasperating when the kids in our lives don’t do what we ask or tell them to do. In this episode we considered 10 common reasons why kids don’t act on our requests or directions. As we mentioned at the beginning of the episode, it is not an exhaustive list, but it will give you some things to think about when you feel frustrated when children don’t do what you ask. Ultimately, by better understanding why the child might not be responding, we can consider and act upon better ways of communicating.

Related Episodes/Blog Posts:

Episode 46 What’s Stopping You From Reaching Your Goals? 

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?

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.

 

 

Create an Empowering Environment with Playlists E. 41

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Create an Empowering Environment with Playlists S. 3 Ep. 41

woman with headphones

Listen to this episode to learn how you can use the power of music playlists to change your environment to create the mood you want to establish in your home or school life. 

Show notes: 

Episode Summary:

Do you create music playlists? You can use music playlists to find inspiration, to create calm and relaxing spaces, or to create more energy. Today we’re talking about empowering ways to use playlists in your life.

In this episode:

Do you create music playlists?

What’s great about playlists is that you can create them for any reason.

If you are like us, you have probably created a few playlists. Michele has a work-out playlist with high energy music for Zumba. She also listens to a playlist called French Baking Music, which is calming but not dull. A lot of coffee shop playlists are like that also. Soft jazz playlists and different kinds of Christmas playlists such as traditional Christmas or instrumental Christmas music are great during the holidays. Paula’s family even has a playlist for when they are on their boat!

Last week, in episode 40, we talked about creating positive environments, and the idea that you can control more parts of your environment than you probably think you can. Playlists are another great way that you can control your environment both at home and at school.

How conferences use music to control the environment:

We attend and present at a lot of conferences, and we’ve noticed that conferences often have playlists. Conferences use music to energize the audience or to help them connect to a particular message or theme of the conference.

For example, conferences use playlists as an empowerment muse, reminding you of your strengths, power, and potential. It’s a way to make the audience enjoy themselves and feel good and it works. At in-person events, people dance, sing along, and feel connected. Music is a shared joy and passion. We may not know the people sitting near us, but we can all sing along with Alicia Keys as she belts out “this girl is on fire…”.

When we attended a week long conference with trainer Brendon Burchard, you couldn’t help but notice his music. It is probably the first time we realized the power of music to control an environment. Before he appeared on stage a few upbeat songs played and then when Macklemore’s song Can’t Hold Us  blasted through the event center Brendon came out jumping to the music while the crowd was singing and jumping along. The energy was electric.

The Massachusetts Conference for Women gave us another example of how to use music playlists effectively. This was a virtual conference where they were very effective at using a playlist to fill the void between speakers. When you attend conferences in a virtual platform, the default mode is to turn off attendee’s cameras so the focus is on the presenter. You never know who is in the room with you.

Without the small talk that is present in a live event, attendees feel alone and isolated and the silence feels awkward. Listening to a carefully curated musical selection before each different speaker can inspire the audience and set the tone before the speaker begins.

The Massachusetts Conference for Women’s playlist included songs like:
Kings and Queens by Ava Max
Let’s Get Loud-Jennifer Lopez
Halo- Beyonce
Rise Up- Andra Day
A Beautiful Noise- Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlisle

The music was a shared moment that made it easy and fun for attendees to interact with each other. When they changed the screen so that the audience could see the other attendees, you could see people singing along and dancing to the music. There were lots of lively comments in the chat as people commented about the music. The conference organizers figured out how to use effectively use music to connect people. The women attending felt collectively inspired and empowered by the playlist of music written and sung by strong females, as noted by the many positive comments in the chat.

Brene Brown on the power of shared moments of connection:

Author Brene Brown shares an even deeper reason for these kinds of common bonding moments. In her book Braving the Wilderness, Brown says that we are all looking for moments of joy and connection so that we can bear witness to the human connection. “It’s like lightening in a bottle,” she says, “We have to catch enough glimpses of people connecting to one another and having fun together that we believe it’s true and possible for all of us.”

This is why we rally around our school songs, even long after we’re been students. It’s why at a concert, we all sway together, linking arms and singing along with strangers. The power of our collective joy helps us to transcend our divisions. In today’s divisive world, we need those connections now more than ever. Music can be that connector.

Isn’t this what we all want more of? Don’t we all want to feel connected to others?

Using music playlists in your life:

Think about the ways that music inspires and motivates you. We all need a boost from time-to time. We want and need to feel uplifted and music is a great way to change how we are feeling at any given time.

You’ve probably had the experience of using music to change your mood. You come home from work tired and a few songs into your favorite album your mood has improved.

For our live workshops, we have a playlist of music we play before the workshop begins as well as at breaks. It fills awkward silences and sets a positive tone. Music also helps if you get nervous when speaking in front of groups, the music takes you out of your head and can build your confidence.

Here are a few songs that inspire and motivate from our playlist:

I Gotta Feeling- The Black Eyed Peas
Defying Gravity- Wicked, Idina Menzel
Some Days You Gotta Dance- The Chicks
Girl on Fire- Alicia Keys
I Won’t Back Down- Tom Petty
A Million Dreams- Pink
I Lived- One Republic
Beautiful Day-U2
Walking on Sunshine- Katrina and the Waves

These songs might be a little all over the place, but that is kind of the point, you get to choose songs that inspire and motivate you.

Another example is from Paula who chooses her Peloton walking music playlist. She wants high energy, fun songs to keep her walking at a good speed.

What about you? Do you ever wish you had more confidence? What would be on your empowering playlist? Why not create it for yourself and then play it as a pick-me-up?

 Using music play lists at school:

Many of you probably already use music playlists at school. We know teachers of young children often use playlists for clean-up time, or for transition times. Some teachers use playlists of soft, instrumental music for quiet work time. Teachers might create playlists that connect to their area of content and use them to engage students- think of School House Rock’s grammar songs or history and government songs.

Do you use playlists as students enter the classroom, either to calm them down or pump them up?  Some teachers have playlists of music to help students with self-regulation. You could also use playlists to energize a sleepy first hour class as they start their day.

Does your school play music in the lunch room to set a calm tone? It can be a powerful tool to regulate the volume in a crowded space. One school plays music, and continues to play music as long as the student voices aren’t louder than the music. It works well to keep the noise down, because the students like the music.

Think about ways you could use music at your school and in your classroom to create the environment you wish to have. Or create different playlists for different environments that you want to create throughout the day.

Here’s a fun idea, find your “Walk-On Song”:

An extension to the idea of using a playlist is to choose a song as your personal theme song or walk on song. A walk on song is the song that they play when you are presenting at a conference after they introduce you and while you are walking on stage. It helps you to create the tone you want to set.

We were introduced to this concept at a conference where the keynote speaker shared that she loved the idea of having a walk on-song. Hers was Dolly Parton’s Nine to Five  which she said she loved because it was upbeat and made her happy. When she came out dancing, everyone was interested and engaged with her before she even began talking.

This of course led all of us to think about our walk on song. It is important to note here that you don’t have to be speaking on a stage to have a walk on song. Consider it your personal theme song, a song that reminds you who you are and who you want to be. It is a fun activity to think about and decide!

In case you are wondering, Paula’s walk on song is Happy by Pharrell Williams and Michele’s walk on song is Sia’s Unstoppable. 

This idea also works for a classroom. Think about a theme song that you and your class would like to have and to use to remind everyone of their potential and possibility. You might even ask the students for suggestions, and then listen to the songs and vote.

We’re sure you can find many times to play your class theme song throughout the year. Just as with sports teams or other groups, it is a bonding experience and something students will likely remember fondly for many years.

Have fun with this! It’s fun to think about and fun to create your playlists.

We’ll leave you today with the words of Plato, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”

Recap:

We say it often- you are more powerful than you think. Rather than accept the energy in any given space, you have the power to alter it. Using music playlists or a special theme song is a way to change the mood, and the energy of a room as well as remind students of their power and potential.

Quote:

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”

Plato

Resources mentioned in this episode:

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

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?

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.

 

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