Ms. M's Tales of a Teacher: My Personal Teacher Blog

  Welcome back after two weeks of special posts for very special events! I hope you had an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week. We know that showing respect and appreciation for educators is beyond a "one-week" event. In the spirit of appreciating each other, I thought about our profession thoughtfully and found that I view our roles as two different things: mirrors and windows. So let's think about ourselves from both a mirror and a window. Pause reading for a minute and think about what those terms mean to you. What words come to mind? Which one do you resonate with, and which one do you think you mimic How can we be both a window and a mirror? As educators, we are very often a mirror for our students. I feel we naturally fell into this role when we chose to be a teacher. We show them what they are doing right, and where they made their mistakes. We model for them what our expectations are, and how to accomplish the challenging tasks that teach us the most.  Students see

 Welcome back teacher friends to another week of inSpiration! I'm glad you're here and I'm very excited to share some insight with you t his week. My message this week is and was not my original thought that popped into my head. I'd like to take this moment to thank Bishop Michael at my parish for providing me with the core idea to start my blog this week.  When I heard his message las week, I instantly wanted to take out my notes and start writing because while the message (of course,) had a spiritual overtone, I automatically connected the theme to leadership and teaching!   I often hear different quotes and phrases describing what makes a good leader, what makes a great one, and what makes an excellent leader. Most of the time these quotes come from the great John Maxwell . After all he is the guru on all things leadership. Over time, through workshops, books, observations, and my own experiences, I've seen all different kinds of leaders and leadership styles. I&

 Greetings fellow teacher friends! Welcome to another week of reflection and energizing our teacher spirits! I want to start off by apologizing for the absence of last week's post. It was scheduled to go out, however it ended up in "drafts" and part of it was missing. I figured, let's not test the "secret gnomes" that live inside our computers and start fresh this week with a deeper dive into my inSpiration Sunday.  As teacher leaders, we know that leadership does not look the same for everyone. Let's think about the different types of leaders we see. Some leaders instinctively are the first to make a suggestion for an idea. Other leaders are the first to leap into a task that needs to be completed, but doesn't necessarily need to talk a lot or give suggestions to others. Still other leaders find observing and asking questions the key to their success. This way, they are able to challenge others to think "outside the box" or highlight somet

Happy spring everyone! Time is flying by this school year, that's for sure! I hope everyone who had Spring Break had a chance to catch their breath, regroup, and enjoy it! Taking this time to regroup is not only well deserved but much needed.  As we enter deeper into spring and the latter half of the year,  let's continue our journey of being teacher leaders and think how we can grow as leaders. Those who know me well know that I am a fan of John Maxwell. He is an expert on leadership and I highly suggest if you don't know him to "go down the rabbit hole" with me and feel inspired. You can visit his website here: Maxwell Leadership I want to reflect on a quote I recently read by him “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”   Many people (not just teachers,) believe they have to have a title or special position to lead and make a difference. For the longest time I too equated leadership with titles and positions, especiall

Welcome back teacher friends! I am glad to be back from my break since mid-March! It seems like it went by fast yet a lot of time has passed.  I always share with other educators how important and relevant it is to take breaks, and I want to lead by example. Sure, I missed sharing my thoughts with you, but I am feeling refreshed and energized!  Last week I journeyed to San Antonio for the 2024 CEC Convention. This was my first time attending and presenting, and it did not disappoint! I was excited to experience a new city, meet all the great people that have appeared on my "Brady Bunch" screens for the past few months, and see as many details of the convention as possible.   As you’d probably expect, it was the networking and conversations that dominated the learning atmosphere of the convention. I was awe struck by the size of the Expo Hall and how many different vendors were there.  I particularly enjoyed meeting vendors from different companies from all over who all have t

Greetings fellow educators! I am feeling energized and motivated from a great weekend spent with my fellow County and State teachers of the year. We had a statewide meeting where we discussed what our passion projects are, and how we can work together to start making them come to life. It was also a time for reflection, sharing, and fun- which we all need with our colleagues! This time inspired me to think of I can help continue the momentum going after the meeting. I've learned that having an initial meeting to brainstorm is the most exciting part, but the most crucial is what happens right after that meeting to keep everyone focused and starting the work to reach the goals of passion projects.  When I asked myself how I could get started and point everyone in the right direction, I remembered something I learned from  a friend of mine, Jeanne (one of my state teacher of the year friends). We should not ask our students what they want to be when they grow up, but rather what probl