Resilient and Resourced

Carolina leans heavily on the memory of her ancestors to work through challenging times.  She knows that they experienced events like wars, pandemics so she takes strength from their best practices when dealing with the school year ahead.  But she also stresses the need for kindness towards others since we all deal with hard times in our own way.  She says “we do what we can and what we know!”. Not one to wait for things to come to her, Carolina has always reached out for mentors and strongly encourages others to do the same whether that’s an experienced educator, a therapist or a mentor.  In her view, mentors are valuable in giving us permission to set a reasonable pace and glean wisdom from their experience of navigating the world of education.

Her vocal passionate support and advocacy for others extends beyond the school hallways where she has founded and leads a female leadership project called Feminine Harbor and you can also find her on LinkedIn and Instagram .

Kimiko firmly believes that educators are experts at making impossible situations work and who want to put wellness before curriculum so they can simply meet students where they’re at during this pandemic school year.  She also believes that educators need to prioritize taking care of themselves, reaching out for help and supporting each other as three key ways that educators will make it through to the other side. “Extending grace” is her go-to phrase this year for herself and others especially to new teachers.  And echoing through all of Kimiko’s  grounding advice is the phrase “You are worthy of all the love you give to your students”.  After exploring how the pandemic has highlighted so many injustices, Kimiko considers the ways that education may grow more inclusive and more creative in the post-pandemic setting.

 If you want to be regularly encouraged, you can follow Kimiko on Twitter at @ESL_fairy or log into her school website to access some incredible resources.