Be The One For Kids

How often do you unplug? How do you take the time? I was talking with my friend, Adam Welcome, last week and he said that he was turning his phone off for a week to kick off his family vacation. I asked him, can you really do it? His answer was quick and to the point. Absolutely, I am hanging out with my wife and kids.  It made me think, can I unplug? I just got home after spending 5 days camping in the mountains. When my wife asked me if I wanted to go camping months ago, my first reaction was yes! I love camping and I love letting my kids explore and learn to love the outdoors. My wife booked us a lake front spot that had enough room for my parents and 4/7 of my siblings to join. Booking these trips months ahead of time is sometimes hard. You never know what will come up between then and now. There were somethings going on in my professional and personal life that I felt I needed to be connected for.  I was wrong.  Thankfully I was forced ...

School ended a week and a half ago and now I have had a moment to stop and think about the year. So many thoughts constantly ran through my head during the school year, but I didn't always take the time to make each of the changes. However there is one change that I reflected on throughout the year and I making sure that I take care of it this summer.  What does your office look like? I am not only talking about your office, but the front office, and every office on your school site.  Is it kid centered?  What type of art is on the wall? Is it welcoming?  Is it professional looking? When you walk into a school office, you should automatically smile. This is a place that should be welcoming and a place that everyone knows loves kids. Too often our offices are cramped, dim lite, not welcoming and have no pictures of kids. This summer, I aim to make our front office and my principal office a place where people know we are in the kid business a...

I interviewed for my first teaching position in February and didn't realized that the job started immediately. My degree posted on February 16 and I started teaching on the 18th.  I was a twenty one year old and not sure what to expect come Monday. I was assigned as a physical education teacher at six different elementary schools. My classes were anywhere from ninety students to one hundred twenty students, and I was assigned two instructional aides to help with the class sizes. Monday morning came and I met my two aides I had been paired with. From the get go, I was hit with some hesitation from these individuals. As soon as I walked into the room, one of them looked at me and said "you are too young to be a teacher." The other said, "I could be your mom." I rolled with it and provided an awkward laugh and then tried to remain calm and positive. It was 15 minutes before our first class was coming outside, so we went to set up the blacktop. As I rou...

As the academic year is coming to a close, every teacher should take a moment and reflect on how the year went and what can be improved moving forward. Throughout this process it is important to ask the right questions which allow you to see your effectiveness.  I challenge you to reflect on these questions and look at your year.  What does a professional look like? Let's say you wake up early and head to the gym in time to make it to that 5:30am spin class. In walks the teacher, who is overweight and still in pajamas. It's possible you have now lost some of your desire to be in that class, and that teacher may have lost a lot of credibility with the students and fellow staff members. It is important to remember that every day we step into our buildings we are representing the education profession as a whole. As teachers we are the "face" of a healthy lifestyle to our students. They look at us and see what they are trying to achieve, a health...