Stop Your Classes From Stealing Your Energy

[@veronicanataleeortega9516]

“Teach the students you have, not the ones you want “. Such a good reminder!

[@CJReynolds]

Mister Rogers used to say “I love you for who you are not for who I wish you’d be.” ☺️

[@anon7374]

I feel like you would be the most AMAZING principal of all time!! Who could not like you first of all? And secondly, you have the rarest gift that I NEVER see in school leaders, which is that you are realistic and understanding but you also believe in working hard and being the best teachers we can possibly be. You really inspire me!

[@CJReynolds]

That's really kind of you to say Anon. Really. I've only ever felt called to teach. I've been asked plenty of times to step up but it was never the time for me. I wouldn't even say it's out of the question now. I'll have to see where this journey leads me. Thanks for your support!

[@shawneelechliter2564]

Finding strong and supportive leadership is key in any teachers success and it often feels like a rare 🦄 to find or have in your school. Let alone finding teachers who aren't burnt out or who have lost their positive mindset.

[@vellovannak4789]

I’m a starting teacher at 55. I cannot tell you how much I have learned from your videos. I’m thrilled, excited, and anxious to have my first classroom in.. 15 days. If I can be half the teacher you’ve modeled, I’ll call my first year a success. All I can say is thanks. You’ve been a real inspiration for me. THANK YOU! You’re amazing. Please keep doing what you do. You have no idea the world of change you are making. A few years from now, I hope to be able to tell you how much good you did for my students. Seriously. Thanks. You have no idea how much your videos have done toward making me a better teacher before I’ve even stood in front of a class. Lol. It’s not “normal “ to say thanks in today’s world. Recognize gratitude. You’ve been a lighthouse in a sea of darkness and confusion. Maybe you know. Maybe you don’t. Undying gratitude for your time and effort to help us go the extra mile. Peace

[@CJReynolds]

Hi there! Thanks so much for such a kind comment. I deeply appreciate it. I love to be able to do this work. I hope this year is a great one for you. ❤️

[@sophiaentzminger5011]

How did your first year go?? We're in the same boat agewise, and starting a new career. Im curious if youre still doing it?? Pros? Cons? :)

[@mcafgr]

Motivating factors that they choose is a winner. Thank you for expressing this in the way you did with relevant examples!

[@waleedkhalid7486]

The short answer is that you have to do more to differentiate, which is the hardest part of lesson planning. To allow the most people to access the material, you have to go through the rigamarole of figuring out what your students like, how they learn, and then finally designing lessons based on those preferences and needs. This takes years to do. New teachers, honestly, shouldn’t even care about it. They should try, but not worry about it too much. Once they’ve got a few years of experience and know, generally what works and what doesn’t and what the curriculum even is, that is when they can begin to figure out how to differentiate for different styles. Learn about yourself first, then learn about the kids. Some may decry this as lazy or anti-student. Ignore them. They do not know or do not remember what it’s like to spend 8 hours lesson planning because they either don’t have a curriculum to base their lesson off of or have already figured out their teaching style and lessons so all they need to do now is tweak things each year. If you are in years 1-4 you should focus on figuring out your fundamental classroom management skills, routines,administrative work, and your regular lesson plans. Do the fancy stuff later when the core stuff is down pat. Remember, teaching is a career, not a job. You are in it for the long haul. Hopefully.

[@shawneelechliter2564]

Sounds like you are describing the concept of choice boards, where students can choose how they practice or demonstrate mastery of a standard. I am slowly implementing more choice in my class. Often they have a choice of how they read to get the background information either by themselves or they can jigsaw the reading and go around and get the information through discussion with peers. It honestly depends on the class which they choose. I'm at a Title 1 school so there's a huge emphasis on reading and taking Cornell style notes and focused notes. For my Tigger style classes I build in more movement and hands on group activities for practice but they don't get to choose how they get the notes we do that together and the practice. But they can then when there is time in class refer back to the other choices for learning and practice to help process their learning and practice more. My more advanced kids or classes with more 12th and 11th graders they are more like Winnie, the Pooh and Eeyore me while I'm a Tigger so it can feel like they aren't matching my ADHD energy and excitement. So I have to slow down and give them more choice to try and engage them. Sadly a lot of teachers see choice boards as extra work and too much prep on their end to utilize them.

[@wildeplaymusic]

Big thank you for all your teaching videos. They are highly valuable. 👏👍

[@CJReynolds]

Happy to do it buddy! 🎉

[@sennievee6833]

I love the idea of meeting kids where they are!

[@CJReynolds]

Hi Sennie! Have a great Friday!

[@funthementalsofmath]

Thank you for sharing about Remark Grading. How does this compare to Edulastic?

[@anitaweir1480]

Great Comment is it the way you teach, are you teaching a way that works for them? Great questions to start the "show" with!!!!

[@CJReynolds]

Hey Anita! I appreciate the kind words. Hope you are well my friend!

[@sarahbatovsky2827]

Please don’t ever casually say “stayed up all night prepping for” ever again. This can NOT be the norm.

[@CJReynolds]

Not the norm at all. However, I will say that when I've gotten really into anything I find it hard to turn off the creative flow. This could be for something I'm building, a birthday party for my kids, or a lesson for class. For those struggling with burnout, I would encourage you to listen to your body and make the necessary changes to live a more healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, for those that feel that fire to create, live in that energy and take advantage of it when it's there. I spend NO extra time grading, doing email, or paperwork. But when I am doing the exciting work of creation for my classroom or beyond... it's THE BEST.

[@sarahbatovsky2827]

@@CJReynolds this is a great response! ❤️ I agree completely

[@plerpplerp5599]

Stop lecturing them and let them learn. It's quite simple. You are not the most important person in the room; your students are. Give them something to do.

[@jayelliott9999]

What if the teacher is an Eeyore in a class of Eeyores? Haha