A few years ago, I wrote a post that went viral about teachers going back to work after Christmas break. I was sitting on my couch in my pajamas feeling the familiar pang of Sunday anxiety and wrote the post quickly and posted it without much thought. Soon, I was getting emails from teachers around…
Category: Education
Purple Puke and Teacher Burnout
I hit my burnout point last week even though I did everything I could to avoid this. I followed all the “wisdom” to avoid teacher burnout: -I got enough sleep. Ask my husband. I am OBSESSED with getting enough sleep every night. I am so worried about getting enough sleep that many nights I lie…
Empty Mugs & Full Hearts
About a month ago, I published a post declaring it was going to be the best school year ever. I decided then that I was going to be positive and happy and encouraging at all times and focus on all the little things that I loved about my job. But that was a month ago,…
Annoying Positivity: 4 Reasons This Will Be the Best School Year
The summer has been good to me: I got married, tried a Jamocha shake from Arby’s, starting using coupons, moved into our new house, saw Wonder Woman, got to travel around Michigan, learned to make healthy french toast, FaceTimed with my nephew while he held the phone, and also had the best cinnamon roll of…
May is for Superheroes: The Teacher Homestretch
I’m exhausted. Last week I had a student ask me if he could play me a song on his nose. Befuddled, I nodded. They didn’t teach me how to answer that question in college. He proceeded to place a finger on the side of his nostril and create a rattly humming sound as he “played” me…
Using Cheese to Encourage Engagement and Participation in the Classroom
If someone told me a few years ago that I would eventually possess the ability to get a group of sixth grade boys to curtsy like princesses during a lesson on fairy tale vocabulary, I would have asked just what kind of black magic I got myself into. It must be some sort of wizardry….
Why I Don’t Want a ‘Normal’ Job: 11 times teaching is the best, even when it isn’t
About 39 times a year, I question why I went into teaching. It’s a crazy life. A life that one can only understand once in the trenches: tying the shoes and wiping the tears and teaching the words. There are some days where on my way home, I am convinced that I am never stepping…
Count Your Blessings, Not Your Chins. 