The Mindful Teacher's Blog

  This element of self refers to the social groups we belong to and the impact they have on how we show up as leaders in the classroom.  These social groups include race, gender, class, sexual orientation and the complexity of how these factors intersect.  The influence of these factors can be subtle on the surface, yet profound in the ways that we interact with students, colleagues, and others in educational spaces.  A 2008 study published in the journal Science  looked into how simply holding a cup of coffee-warm, or cold impacted a person's perception.  Results showed that individuals who held a warm cup of coffee prior to analyzing characters in a story perceived the individuals as warm-hearted.  Conversely, individuals who held a cold cup of coffee perceived the same characters as more cold.  The study went on to reveal that this temperature-dependent reaction was also correlated to study participants' behavior, such that those holding the wa...

  It's one day before students are set to arrive and you've spent the last few days, weeks, or maybe even months preparing and all of a sudden you get the notification that your entire program has changed!  Better yet, you don't even have your schedule yet.  Regardless of the circumstances and reasons why, you're expected to perform magic.  How do you respond in this situation? Does this upset you and throw you into a frenzy?  This situation is so common and real that it may even create a visceral response in your body just reading that scenario.   How about whole staff professional development?  Those are fun times!  Imagine you're already in the middle of teaching a unit and you're introduced to a new approach for tracking student progress.  The approach seems logical and perhaps even more efficient than the method you're currently using.  How willing would you be to change your approach? If there is a better way to achieve the go...