Being an elementary teacher and then a middle school teacher was awesome. However, I knew I wanted to understand the education landscape from various perspectives. I decided to become an instructional coach, which led me to starting my side hustle in career coaching and then to my full time job as a talent development specialist. There are many things I learned along the way and this article contains a framework for transitioning to non-classroom positions! Step One: Clarify Why You Are Leaving the Classroom Nail down what is prompting you to transition out of the classroom. Is it the schedul ..read more

What if you created a “standard algorithm” for your day? Here’s what I mean. In my 4th grade classroom, a focus of my Math curriculum each year is the standard algorithm for double-digit multiplication and long division. I enjoy these instructional days because as a Type-A teacher, I like to solve multiplication and division equations with the standard algorithm. Standard means the way most people do things, or the common way. Algorithms are the step-by-step problem-solving method for completing the given task. Therefore, a standard algorithm is a stepwise practice for solving a problem. I hav ..read more

Previously, I wrote about the tension surrounding book choice in schools from four main parties: parents, teachers, students, and admin. This article will not have an admin option. It will address a group I left out last time instead: librarians. Guiding students in book choices is not an administrator’s role, as I understand it; we trust the mentors directly speaking into students’ lives for that. This article is about book choice as well, but it’s about the choice to say no (how to say no, how to tell when you should say no, what are the ramifications of saying no, what to do when you maybe ..read more

Let’s reimagine student engagement. Join me for a free online training to help you teach productivity practices to students by finding flow. I’ve really enjoyed the time I’ve spent in schools training teachers on the Finding Flow Solutions curriculum, and helping teachers reimagine student engagement in their classrooms. Productivity practices and mindsets CAN be taught, and Finding Flow makes that process super simple (read: no-prep!) for teachers. Because not every school has the funds to bring me in to conduct professional development in person, I thought it would be fun to offer an online ..read more

The first time I encountered ChatGPT, I panicked. It was December of 2022, and I walked into a staff room to talk to a colleague, Kate, about an assignment. What I found instead were my colleagues Kate and James playing with magic: ChatGPT, an AI playground in its first stages. Kate showed James this otherworldly site, and James tested how the AI was answering questions with intriguing bias depending on the type of question (“What’s the best way to stop terrorists?” vs. “How to bring peace to the Middle East”). Kate started explaining to me with startling calm how you could write an entire ess ..read more

My teacher language has changed over the past decade. This is partly because of my own professional development around different classroom management philosophies, partly from my own mental adjustment in response to student misbehavior, and also partly from listening to the way other teachers and myself talk to students. I feel enormously blessed to work at the school I do, and I think teachers in general have the best interest of students at heart. There are phrases, however, that I’ve heard both uttered from myself and other teachers that have made me wince. It’s not that any of these phrase ..read more

The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’ – Maria Montessori Maria Montessori’s quote hangs on my wall at school, reminding me that in all I do, I am striving to create engaged, independent learners who take ownership of their learning. I do what I can to limit the time children are expected to sit and listen for long periods and try to encourage workshops where children can work at their own pace with autonomy and agency. This is when I see my students happiest, and the best learning occurs. But how do you make that ..read more

There are so many different ways to start the school year–which ones are right for YOU? Those first days feel so important! First impressions matter! Being overwhelmed and trying to do all the things in those first few days is definitely not on brand for Truth for Teachers. Check out this guide to curate a focused and enjoyable back-to-school plan. Grab your notebook and pen (or however you like to plan), and let’s get started. 1. Identify what you want students to know, understand, and do Know, Understand, and Do (or KUDs) are part of the Understanding by Design framework coined by Jay McTig ..read more

I don’t listen well…at least, not naturally. As an educator and adult with ADHD, attention threatening to pull away from the person talking to me every few seconds can be quite damaging to the relationships I try to build with students. I’ve noticed as more things demand my focus, I am listening less. Last fall, I decided to improve my own listening by signing up to teach a workshop on it (deadlines are an excellent motivator for my learning). My workshop was titled “How to Listen ‘Actively’ rather than ‘Deeply.” Researching for the workshop helped me to identify my own weaknesses in listening ..read more

Teachers are coming out of the fog that has blinded and consumed education for the past two or so years. This wretched “covid state” finds teachers almost permanently in the disillusionment phase often prescribed to first-year teachers in the winter months. Yet, here we are washed down by the gulfs, touching the happy isles and while we are not exhibiting the same strength before the pandemic, we can still move heaven and earth to do our jobs. Maybe Alred Lord Tennyson was onto something – our strength cannot yield, our passion cannot buckle – “that which we are, we are.” We are change. We nee ..read more