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

 Greetings teacher friends! Welcome to another week of my blog. I'm very excited to share my thoughts on the ideas posted on inSpiration Sunday about growth and goals.  My last few weekly quotes have been focused on growth vs. goals. I admit that this idea was new to me until I heard John Maxwell's podcast. I always thought that having goals was not only natural, but the sign of a strong leader who is ambitious and inspirational. I also thought that achieving goals was always, well, the goal! I learned through the podcast that goals can actually stunt our growth as a leader because it symbolizes and end. As leaders, our work is never done, and we are always seeking growth. Often this can appear like we want to achieve goals, but it's growth that makes the difference. Once I heard that, it all clicked for me. Whenever people ask(ed) me "Why do you do get involved in different groups, and always look for the 'next thing' to do?" I realized that it's not...

 Greetings everyone! Welcome back to another school year with my blog! I'm so happy you are here! I'm ready to spend time with you this school year through my blog. As I always share, I am fairly new at writing blogs, and my main goal for this one is to help teachers with all different levels of experience feel seen, heard, valued, understood, and supported. If my blog helps even just one person feel lifted and motivated, then it's purpose has been justified.  This month I shared a quote by Leroy Iams: "Never let go of a dream until you're ready to wake up and make it happen."  What is your dream teacher friends? What do you hope for yourself as an educator? Perhaps your dream is solely focused on the work you do in the classroom. For others, it may be something bigger for themselves; going back for an advanced degree, learning something new, refining a craft or skill... the possibilities are endless, and they are unique to you. The important thing is that we ...

  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...