A Conscious Connection

Taking Control of the Teaching Standards This blog post is well timed as I'm writing it, refreshed after the Thanksgiving holiday break. Whatever I am teaching seems to bring up the life lessons that are a needed refresher, and this topic of taking control of the teaching standards is a great place now in the school year. From the beginning my motto and also fallback mode has been to prepare--as an educator I can tell the days that go smoothly are those in which I have grounded myself in the purpose of the lessons and also feel intentional about how I will be throughout the day. When I know the focus it is easier to get things on track. Of course there are those days, even when you've thoroughly prepared, that everything seems to be going array. You know, that's okay too. It's important as the teacher to also model flexibility and the good old breather break--for everyone.  The standards are a heavily invested in agreement of what to teach children--and ...

Speaking from my heart, I hope that all my students experience our classroom as an equitable, safe, space for learning in which they belong. Speaking from my head, I think: “well how do I get that done?” It honestly is one of my greatest challenges and places of focus because I always see potential for growth. Our classroom is a microcosm for what is occurring in our larger community, and this small, yet vastly important place for our little kindergarteners, I see playing a part to the large whole of how our society is working (or not work so well), with established systems of inequity and injustice. For my students, I wish to verbally and non-verbally communicate that we all belong. It feels as though I’m almost on a quest, a sort of mission to understand and see my role—and my part to play—as well to empower students as they play theirs. One important way I innately sense is to know that we all have limited viewpoints, and I need to check mine so that it does not limit a chi...