How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. ~ George Washington Carver

Has there been someone that has made a difference in your life without you knowing it at the time?

As I remember these words spoken to me as a child, "You're not good enough" and "You'll never amount to anything," I'm thankful that I had the strength and commitment to say, "I'll prove you wrong." My journey was littered with major obstacles as a child, and it would have been easy to give up and believe the adult naysayers that created the dysfunction in my life. These adults were my parents, relatives, teachers, and school counselors.

And little did I know then, but they helped me get on a path to teaching others and wanting to have a positive impact on other people's lives.

Then, there were others. There were some of my...

As educators, there are 4 essential principles that I learned from a mentor years ago and are foundational to effective teaching practice, and I recently found a reference to them again as "Responsible Standards" in Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement by Richard W. Strong, Harvey F. Silver, and Matthew J. Perini.

These principles are not the "end all, be all" by any means, but they are an essential starting point to building a teaching program with high expectations and standards for achievement for all students.

I'll paraphrase from the book and use my understanding and experience to describe what I've learned as the 4 Essential Principles to creating an effective teaching program.

1. Rigor: All students need to learn to read, understand, and analyze complex texts.

Fundamental to the success of our students is their ability to read, understand, and analyze texts from different disciplines; it is also essential that our...

Remote Working and Facilitating Home Education

The current circumstances are creating a “new normal” for all of us and we’re all navigating through the chaos of the unknown. Many have been at a standstill when it comes to careers, while others of us are lucky to work from home. Working remotely can be a challenge within itself, but add home educating children into the mix and the realities can feel overwhelming.

One of the obstacles I face when working from home is distractions...I can easily get sidetracked by the next shiny thing; however, I’ve found a few things that work so I continue to make progress.

Here are some parent-tested tips to help guide you through the “new normal”:

• Set up a schedule and have it posted: setting up routines is important not only to get things done, but for creating a sense of normalcy. 
• Discuss the norms of the workday: discuss the expectations for all involved. What progress needs to be made? When will breaks...

Are You Making Time for Self-Care to Recharge?

 Self-care is a term that’s been making the rounds in media and social media lately. Though it’s become a popular buzzword, you still may not be familiar with the concept. The idea behind self-care is that if you take time for yourself, you’ll have more energy to devote to every area of your life. Focusing on yourself can truly rejuvenate you and help you to face the world with renewed energy. It can also have a positive effect on your productivity. Self-care is the foundational to a successful life and career. Let’s examine self-care and its benefits.

About Self-Care

Self-care encompasses a great many things. Some think of it as simply doing things to pamper one’s self, like taking a bubble bath or getting a manicure. That’s part of it, but there’s so much more involved. Self-care means caring for your entire self: your mental health, physical wellbeing, psychological welfare,...