Sustainable Teacher Podcast

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55. Do You Really Want a Job You Don't Take Home? Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

As I’m sitting to write this episode, I’m in an approximately six square feet space in the cab of our pick up truck pulling our camper on our way home from our Christmas vacation with three boys and our dog. I’m reflecting on what was by far our best camper-trip yet as it was at the beginning of winter and was full of sunshine which we midwesterners aren’t used to in December.

It was a great refresh.

But you know what I thought about quite a bit? Work.

Not in a way that was stifling to my or my family’s enjoying the trip. Not at all. We just had a lot of relaxation time. And that meant my mind was able to wonder and think and plan.

And it reminded me of how I was with my classroom when on a break or vacation.

When I was able to step back from it, I was able to think about it in a clearer way. I was able to work on my classroom rather than in my classroom.

In today’s episode, I’m asking you the question, in a very non-rhetorical way, do you really want a job you don’t have to take home, because taking too much work home is unsustainable, and leads to burn out quickly. But I’d like to offer some points to ponder in answering this question so we’re able to shift how we think about the work we take home and even value it.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a much more sustainable understanding of what work to take home and how that work can fuel your sustainability overall, leaving you with a new found love for your evenings, weekends, and long holiday breaks.

Because taking work home everyday or weekend is unsustainable, but work that fuels your sustainability when you have the opportunity to work at home can help keep you in the classroom while present at home longer.

Let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/do-you-really-want-a-job-you-don-t-have-to-take-home

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CONFERENCE: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/stc

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"I love Mandy and the Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!

54. Revisiting Your Teacher Why in 2022 Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Last semester I had the privilege of working with mostly freshman students at a local university in an Introduction to Educational Technology course. This was one of the very first education courses many of my students were taking, and I appreciated the perspective of a college student with next to no experience in education, but the drive to know as much as they could about strategies and best practices to implement in their future classrooms.

What I discovered in conversations with many of my students is that although they hadn’t much experience yet, they all had stories and the first stages of what will become their why as teachers.

Now you may be someone who knows your why, is grounded in it, and acts from that space more days than not. But you also could be someone who hasn’t had the time to consider what your why might be because, seriously, who’s got time for that right?!?

Whether you are a teacher who’s known your why for a decade or hasn’t yet discovered it, I would like to revisit a few common why stories of teachers, and even share a few personal stories so as to inspire you to know its importance and to own your why to the fullest. It really is one of the best things you can do in reaching for sustainability in your daily teaching life.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a renewed sense of your foundation as an educator because of the common teacher-whys that I’ll share and the personal stories of educators finding and living their why in their classrooms.

I’ll even recommend a book I love on this topic and share an awesome opportunity I have coming up that all educators will want to take advantage of as we start the new year.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/your-why-revisited

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CONFERENCE: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/stc

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

53. Classroom Culture & Rigor with Andrew Sharos Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher Podcast, I am your host, Mandy Rice, a ten year teacher turned biggest teacher supporter in building sustainable classrooms so you can stay there longer, and today on the show we have Andrew Sharos, the author of Finding Lifelines and All 4s and 5s, a teacher then administrator, and now an administrator and teacher and school supporter, providing professional development and support to schools around the country.

In today’s episode, Andrew and I are talking about his book, All 4s and 5s, whose title is referring to the highest scores a student can get on the AP Exam. For those who don’t know, AP stands for Advanced Placement, and is a global curriculum in over 30 courses run by an organization called CollegeBoard, and at the end of each course, in the month of May, across the world, hundreds of thousands of students take a summative test to prove how much they learned in that course. That test is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and most college and universities will accept a three or higher for at least some, in some cases a substantial, amount of college credit.

I personally took two AP courses and tests, AP U.S. History and AP Psychology, got a 4 on both of them, earning the equivalent of 4 college courses of credit saving my family and I thousands of dollars.

But here’s the thing.... This episode and this book we’ll be chatting about is NOT, I repeat, is NOT exclusively for Advanced Placement teachers. No, not at all.

This episode and Andrew’s book is for any teacher who wants to build a classroom culture that is not each kid against each other, but instead is, as Andrew explains it, us together versus the test.

If you are an educator who wants to understand and master the technique that allows you to rise above just being a top expert in your content, yet allows you to still get great student outcomes, then this episode is for you.

And stay tuned until the end when I talk about a giveaway you won’t want to miss.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/classroom-culture-and-rigor-with-andrew-sharos

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

ALL 4S AND 5S BOOK: http://andrewsharos.com/the-book-all-4s-and-5s

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Mandy and Sustainable Teacher." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more teachers -- just like you -- move toward the sustainable work-teacher-life balance that they desire. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

52. 3 Tips to Clean Up Email: Teacher Tech Series Part Four Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

Kids have just left your room, you grab your lunch from the fridge and decide to have a working lunch (because, yes, those are ok to have every once in a while) in the peace and quiet of your empty classroom, and as you sit down and open your laptop, you immediately lose all semblance of peace and quiet when you open your email to find 15 new emails amid your inbox that already has over 200 messages needing your attention.

Among those emails are no less than a few reminding you of past emails you have not responded to yet, and there goes your peaceful and lite working lunch.

Much like we talked about in last week’s episode referring to project management and all the roles we fill as teachers, we are filling the position of around 5 people. It’s high time we start acting like someone who fulfills 5 positions by using a project management tool, and by streamlining how we handle our email inbox.

After listening to this episode you’ll be ready to tackle what is possibly the most triggering tab you have open right now… your email inbox, so that you can feel less mental clutter, and better able to handle the onslaught of inquiries that come your way on a daily basis, leaving you with more head space and time to focus on what matters most.

In this episode I’ll be giving your three tips to manage your email inbox more efficiently, so grab your pen and paper, because you won’t want to miss the mental decluttering that’s about to go down.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-four-3-tips-to-clean-up-email

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

51. Calendar & Project Management: Teacher Tech Series Part Three Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

You’ve already taken the big step in being more efficient with your lesson planning by doing it digitally like we talked about back in episode 50, now it’s time to take it one step further, and really it just makes sense to take it one step further with your time and task management as a teacher. Here’s the truth, as much as what we do in helping kids learn can be super simple, as educators we have plenty of spinning plates in the air. We are in charge of lots of projects and other moving parts of our day, leaving us with somewhere around ten things we’re managing at any given time. There’s got to be a better way to manage all that we do other than in a paper planner or calendar.

Because, here’s the thing… The management of time and tasks is the greatest low-grade, yet constant stressor of life, is it not? Especially for teachers. The autonomy we have as teachers is truly one of the best aspects of the career field in my opinion, but the inability to think long term and manage the creation of an entire year’s worth of curriculum, lessons, activities, projects, assessments, etc. will stifle the impact of any educator. So it’s high time we streamline our time and project management as teachers. And I’ve got a few ways to help you do just that.

In this episode I’m going to give you three ways to streamline your calendar and use a project management tool. Each of the three suggestions build off of each other - you could implement all three if you’d like, or you could take each one as a baby step along the path of project management in your teaching life. The first tip I give (let’s call it step one) being the smallest and easiest to implement, then step two is a bit bigger of a step, and same with step three, the third tip I recommend because it’s adopting an entirely new system. Now, some of you may already be rocking the third tip I give in project management, but for others it may be quite the gigantic leap of faith to get into it, but either way, I hope this episode and my recommendations are ones that feel actionable at some point in your teaching career. Maybe not today, and that’s ok, but definitely some time soon.

After listening to this episode you’ll be energized by at least three actionable steps you can take in reaching more efficiency with your time and task management, whether that’s individually or as a team of teachers.

So when you’re ready, and you may want to open your notes app or get out your trusty flair pen and notepad, let’s get into these recommendations for better time and project management.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-three-calendar-and-project-management

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

50. Digital Lesson Plans: Teacher Tech Series Part Two Nov 12, 2021

Show notes

When I first started teaching, I hated lesson planning. I loved teaching from day one, but when I had to sit down and write out plans I was doing it on someone else’s terms (meaning it wasn’t in the format that was helpful to me), and I knew by writing it down I would look at it once and then have to redo it again next year.

I hate doing things twice.

That’s when I stopped writing my lesson plans on paper and kept them completely digital. Most teams I worked on did the same, which gave us a huge advantage because then our plans were sharable. That’s a total game changer when it comes to collaboration for a team - seriously, it was beautiful.

Collaboration and team planning is one of the biggest benefits to digital lesson plans, but there are many others, and I want to point you to episode 5 of this podcast where I give 3 Steps to Sustainable Planning, and the first step is to go digital. In that episode I talk about the benefits, so that this episode picks up where it left off and gives you actionable steps to take in going digital with your lesson plans.

After listening to this episode you will have four techniques to implement for your digital lesson plans, four things that will make them the living, breathing, useful documents that they should be, rather than the inaccessible, write-it-down-and-never-look-at-them-again plans of old.

Because here’s the thing. As much as we love edtech and using technology to make our lessons more effective, the teacher tech is just as important. What better way to learn along with our students than to implement and use many of the tools they are using in ways that optimize our time and effectiveness.

So if you’ve ever wanted to forget your lesson plan book - I know, it’s hard because they are so cute, but there are other ways to implement that cuteness - and optimize your planning by keeping it digital, then this episode as part two of our Teacher Tech series is for you.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-two-digital-lesson-planning

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

49. Parent Communication: Teacher Tech Series Part One Nov 05, 2021

Show notes

Welcome back to the Sustainable Teacher, I hope your week so far is going as smoothly as possible, and that you have found this episode at just the right time, whenever that time might be for you. This episode will be a conversation about EdTech, but more so on the technology that is teacher-facing, and less student-facing.

Oftentimes in conversation and professional development involving educational technology, the focus is on student-facing technology and what newest tool can be used to have impact in your lessons. Although It's not bad that this is the main focus, it’s not the only way that technology can benefit a teacher and a classroom. So in this episode we’ll be talking about teacher tech and how to leverage technology to make a part of your day more sustainable, and the part of your day we’ll focus on in this episode is parent communication.

Sure, technology, in most areas, is great. It improves efficiency and even sustainability, but only if those are our intentions and goals in using the technology. And using tech in those ways is often overshadowed by the “cool factor” - using technology just because it will wow our students. So this episode, and the following two episodes, will be focused on what I call Teacher Tech - that is, how teachers can be using technology to streamline aspects of what they do or retune parts of their day or workload to be more efficient, for a three-part series on this topic. Today we’ll focus on, like I said, parent communication, next week we’ll get into the specifics of digital planning (that’s right, no more paper lesson plan books), and finally your calendar and project management system (that’s a new one that I’m particularly excited about).

So if any of these topics sound like something you want to tune into and learn more about, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and find our full length show notes on our website that’s linked when you scroll down where you’re listening. Likewise, if you know a teacher-friend or two that would benefit from or find some interest in this Teacher-Tech series, find and click the share button where you’re listening and send it their way, or take a screenshot and post it on social media tagging @teachonamission so your followers can find the podcast as well.

Here we go for part one of our series on Teacher-Tech, Parent Communication.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teacher-tech-series-part-one-parent-communication

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

48. Classroom Culture and Mental Health Oct 28, 2021

Show notes

During the ten years I spent in the classroom, I taught AP® Psychology all of those years. I attended numerous content-specific professional development opportunities, flipped the entire curriculum that is readily available for free on my YouTube channel, as well as built resources that many teachers find helpful in my Teachers Pay Teachers store or in our Sustainable Psych Teacher membership. I’m sharing all of this to say that I became, and hopefully remain, well versed in the AP® Psychology curriculum - I would even venture to say I’ve got my 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell teaches about as indicating expertise, at least in the curriculum that is… but certainly not in the field of psychology.

So as much as I know and love psychology, I am by no stretch of the imagination a psychologist, psychiatrist (shout out to my psych nerds who know the difference), or a mental health professional. No advice I give today in this episode is advice for handling mental health. No. Instead it is advice on building a classroom culture that helps students feel welcome at the core of who they are, not because of their facade, and that they feel comfortable to be vulnerable enough with you or another adult so they can seek help if and when they need it.

So I’ll say it again - I am not giving mental health advice or recommendations on how to go about handling a mental health situation for yourself or for that of your student.

However, my hope is that after listening to this episode you will have a clear vision of a balanced message to send and classroom culture to create around mental health.

It is NOT news to educators today that our students' mental health is different than it was ten or even five years ago. And then you throw into the mix this whole pandemic, not just the potential and reality for some of getting sick or caring for our sick loved ones, but more prominently impactful, the social distancing, total wrench thrown in young people’s lives, routines, and futures that absolutely changed everything for them, or at least for some. I would venture to say the impact is and will be immeasurable, never quite completely quantifiable. But teachers know. We see it, and, if you’re anything like me and the many teachers I work with, as educators are convicted of sending a welcoming message to all students, but also a message that empowers our students no matter their state of mental health.

In this episode I’ll be talking to the teacher in the room, I bet that’s you, on the topic of taking care of yourself so you can care for others, what recent research is showing us about our students’ mental state, and finally three messages you want to be sending to your students everyday when it comes to their emotional and mental health.

So if you’re ready to talk about this hot button issue like a professional, while keeping it real amongst colleagues with the perspective of wanting to make an impact with your kids, then this episode is for you. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/classroom-culture-and-mental-health

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

47. How to Use Stations in Your Classroom Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

Are you ready for a very practical, how-to episode today? I hope so, because that’s exactly what I’ve got for you when it comes to implementing stations. I try not to overwhelm you on this podcast with “implement this now and solve all your problems” strategies, because that’s just not how things work, and, at least for me, learning all kinds of new things just clouds my thinking and vision, and I end up accomplishing less.

However, a nice how-to every now and then can be refreshing, and I hope that today’s episode is that for you, and it’s all about stations and how they can be used in any classroom.

Now, who could use stations, what classrooms or students would it benefit? And I want to answer that question before we get started. Really, any teacher at any grade level can use stations, but I recommend the use of stations, and wrote today’s episode especially with the teacher in mind who’s been doing things the same way for a while and might just need a little bit of change. I would also recommend stations for the teacher who has a ton to get through, feels rushed all the time to get through it, but in rushing ends up compromising student understanding and mastery. Finally, I recommend the use of stations to any teacher who would like to have his/her classroom flow without completely depending on his/her presence and constant attention to make sure it flows…. Meaning, you need your students to take a bit more ownership of their learning inside the walls of your classroom.

The idea of stations in the classroom is a familiar one in the elementary classroom, but much past that and they aren’t very common. But the advantages of having stations in an elementary classroom don’t just go away once students get older. No, the benefits of keeping their attention in short bursts rather than the whole class period, teaching students to manage their time within shorter amounts of time, breaking larger concepts or standards into smaller, more manageable chunks… all those benefits still exist beyond the elementary classroom.

After listening to this episode you’ll have a clear vision of what stations are, how you can use them, and the benefits you and your students will get from implementing them. And I have a special gift for you, just for being a listener of the Sustainable Teacher Podcast today. Scroll down where you’re listening, you’ll find the description of today’s episodes, then three helpful links. The first link you’ll see is to our full length show notes, a blog post on today’s episode. When you click there, you’ll find on that page how to sign up to receive a video tutorial on how I use stations (as well as two other how-to videos from yours truly), what stations look like in my classroom, and even how to use a “key” in your stations without promoting laziness and learned helplessness in your students.

Here’s the ultimate benefit of stations. You’re putting more of the onus of learning onto your students rather than having them rely on you for their understanding or how to go about each and every task. If that sounds like something you and your students could benefit from, then today’s episode is for you, so grab your pen or open your notes app and let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/how-to-use-stations-in-your-classroom

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

46. *BONUS* 3 Steps to Flip Your Classroom Before Christmas Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

It is mid October at the time this episode will air which means only one thing… the Holidays, and Winter break, and by extension, second semester, is right around the corner. Home improvement and craft stores have been setting up for Christmas since August, so don’t call me crazy that I’m talking about it in today’s episode. Deal?

Alright - today I’m giving you a challenge, if you’re willing to take it on and reap the benefits for you, your classroom, and your students. And the challenge is this - flip your classroom by Christmas.

Now, does every teacher need or want to do this? Absolutely not. And many of you listening today have already flipped, and I’d love to give you a virtual (or at least audio only) round of applause… and ask that you email me or find me on social media and let me know how it's going - truly I want to know. But for everyone else who hasn’t flipped and has maybe considered the idea and would like to know more, this episode is for you.

Flipping your classroom is no small task, and it will meet the unique needs of your unique students if you build it well. And this episode will get you started in that direction.

After listening to this episode you will have a clear understanding of what it takes to flip your classroom so that your time investment and decision to flip is both sustainable for you and effective for your students, getting you the ultimate return on your time investment.

Because here’s the thing, the post-pandemic classroom is one that must be accessible to students outside the classroom walls, but also sustainable for you, because if it isn't’ both of those, you’re either leaving students behind or losing teachers. Flipping allows you to be accessible and sustainable, effective with your students in the post-pandemic classroom in ways that streamlines your content for all, and empowers your students to take ownership… a lesson they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

So grab your pen and paper, or open the notes app on your phone, get ready to jot down these insights, ideas, and steps toward flipping your classroom in effective and sustainable ways. Here we go.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-flip-your-classroom-before-christmas

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WEBINAR: https://www.teachonamission.com/flippingwebinar

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