“A Good Teacher Is a ‘Self-Abuser’ Teacher!”
A grad-school professor of mine said this in class one day. He was lamenting that his wife, a kindergarten teacher, had been on leave for two years to have their two children. He specialized in language acquisition and reading development, so he used his wife’s classroom as an observational laboratory for years. While she was on leave, he was having a difficult time finding a replacement.
Last week, I shared suggestions to improve students’ attitudes towards study skills. But, students are not the only ones with poor attitudes.
I recently received an email from Jean*. Jean is a teacher who is battling a few roadblocks while teaching study skills during her “Study Skills” class.
As school budgets are rapidly shrinking, administrators have to carefully consider how to allocate their budget; they need to get the most “bang for their buck.” Managing a school budget is an art form involving hundreds of decisions and balancing dozens of demands.
“HOW CAN WE MAKE THE GREATEST IMPACT?”
Study skills have earned a bad “rap” over the years for many reasons:
-Students think they are “boring” because many boring things are lumped together with study skills.
I know that many schools across the country have been in session for a few weeks now, but I just sent my kids off to school for the “first day” today. It’s hard to believe that fall is “unofficially” here! To kick off the new school year, I have a couple of resources for you and a special announcement for SOAR:
1. THE COST OF NOT TEACHING STUDY SKILLS: A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email that received more response than anything I’ve ever written! It was about the cost of NOT teaching study skills and was so popular that I created a video to go along with it. If you enjoyed the email –or if you didn’t have time to read it- you can see it here: (more…)
We hosted our first “Ask the Author” phone sessions at the beginning of this month and I really enjoyed speaking with several teachers and parents. One call, however, resonated very deeply with me. It was with a teacher from Minnesota who originally had a specific product question. As she explained her situation, however, she made a striking comment. “I am trying my best, but many parents want to blame everything on me!” Her voice cracked as she said it. I felt her pain. I’ve been there before!
The summer after I married, I moved to a new part of town and began looking for a new job. I quickly learned that finding a job is all about who you know. Being new to town, I knew no one. September had come and gone with no luck and I was very discouraged. One day, I made a bold networking move (which is another story for another day) and connected with a principal who needed a teacher for her fifth grade classroom.
Today, I want to share a resource that became the topic of one of the “rants” Susan mentioned yesterday. We were discussing how important it is for student to learn how to “delay gratification” in order to be successful… in school or in life.
So, I shared this video with her: (more…)
My mom is a physician with a specialist certification in chemical-dependency. Lately, she and my father have spent a lot of time lately trying to help a relative who, apparently, has been battling alcoholism for several years. You would never know it to know her. She is a dynamic woman; very smart, hard-working, and a dedicated mom. But, she is horribly depressed and her drinking has taken its toll on her family. Her mother and siblings have recently reached out to my mom, asking for help and expressing interest in doing an intervention.
To add fuel to this cruel fire, her husband is battling cancer. His prognosis is actually quite good, but he is about to endure a very long stretch of chemotherapy. This is a very stressful time for all of them! (more…)
My mother is a family physician with a specialty in substance abuse (certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine). Over the years, we have many relatives who have battled addictions in one way, shape, or form, and Mom specifically pursed the additional certification to help them. Her interest in the issue is truly a labor of love!
Mom recently shared an excerpt from the book, “Beyond the Booze Battle” by Ruth Maxwell, that she thought would be insightful for parents and teachers. I think it perfectly and succinctly explains the impact of substance abuse on children: (more…)
“A good teacher is a self-abuser!” One of my grad-school professors said this in class years ago. I was still teaching full-time and his words pierced right through me! “Yes!” I thought, “that is so right!”
I came home every day, frustrated that I didn’t get to something I wanted to cover that day or that a particular lesson did not go very well, struggling to figure out just how I was going to help a particular student, worried about where another student was headed in life…my mind was constantly battling dozens of “couldas,” “wish-I-wouldas,” and “how-can-I”s that I was miserable. (more…)
Tobi Flair
Public Middle School
New Orleans, LA
Tobi Flair is the principal at Harry Hurst Middle School in Destrehan, Louisiana. Her building has built a 20-minute session of “SOAR time” into their daily schedule.
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