Guess what!?!  Teach On  A Mission, LLC, is growing, and I am so excited to introduce you to Rachelle Dusso in this episode.  Rachelle is a five-year teacher in Wisconsin who is joining our team as the Content Coach for our Sustainable Psych Teacher membership for AP Psychology teachers!

In this episode she not only  introduces herself, but brings us 3 steps to a successful year for all our AP Psychology teachers out there.  But that’s not all… she’s got 7 more steps (plus a bonus)... that’s right 7 more actionable steps you can be taking this summer to make sure your school year is successful and sustainable in AP Psychology.  

Grab the full download - AP Psych Done Right Teacher Workbook - at the link below.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-a-successful-year-in-ap-psychology 

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

AP PSYCH DONE RIGHT WORKBOOK: https://www.teachonamission.com/appsychworkbook

Guess what!?!  Teach On  A Mission, LLC, is growing, and I am so excited to introduce you to Adriana Targa in this episode.  Adriana is a ten-year teacher in Managua, Nicaragua who is joining our team as the Content Coach for our Sustainable Biology Teacher membership for AP® Biology teachers!

In this episode she not only  introduces herself, but brings us 3 steps to a successful year for all our AP® Biology teachers out there.  But that’s not all… she’s got 7 more steps!!!  That’s right, 7 more actionable steps you can be taking this summer to make sure your school year is successful and sustainable in AP® Biology.  

Grab the full download - 10 Steps to a Successful Year in AP® Biology Teacher workbook - at the link below.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-steps-to-a-successful-year-in-ap-biology 

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

AP® BIOLOGY TEACHER WORKBOOK: https://www.teachonamission.com/apbioworkbook

Have you ever heard the phrase that the best way to learn something is to teach it?  Or have you ever, instead of you, yourself teaching a concept, had your students take over to teach it because you knew they would have to learn it first?

You’ve experienced this yourself.  The only way to be able to teach something is to learn it first.  And this is why teaching can be so hectic, especially if you’re told you’re teaching a new subject or course within your certification.  First you have to learn it, then you have to get into the complexities of best practices in teaching that specific content.  Talk about time consuming, right?

But what if it didn’t have to be that complicated?

What if we approached it not as a teacher, but instead as expert learners?

In this episode I’m diving into how teachers are not teachers, they are expert learners of their specific content, because gone are the days where you can just talk at kids and expect them to absorb everything you say.  Kids just don’t work like that anymore, and when you  step into the role of expert learner you’ll be so much more effective at helping your kids do the same.

After listening to this episode you will have a renewed understanding of your role as an educator and how you can empower your students as learners through that role.  You’ll also walk away with actionable strategies to take advantage of this renewed understanding of your role.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/teachers-aren-t-teachers

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

7-DAY SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

Have you ever caught yourself saying or heard someone else say that you’re “just” a teacher?  Maybe in a circle of friends who aren’t teachers?  Adding the word “just” means I’m nothing  more than, or I could’ve done more with my life, but instead I’m “just” a teacher.

Or how about this common saying, “Those who can, do.  Those who can’t, teach.”

Now, that’s just a saying, but it’s one we’ve all heard, and I’m sure had aimed at us in some way before even if it was in a joking manner.  But I bet it wasn’t laughable.

In many ways I think teachers have assumed these beliefs about teachers, and almost absorbed them as part of who they  are as teachers.  This is not a conscious occurrence, as if when we become teachers we say to ourselves that we are less-than or some how mediocre in reaching life’s successes, but I do think it’s become part of the common perception of teachers even in the minds of teachers.

In today’s episode we’ll talk about why  I think this, how it’s impacting  teachers, and what we can do to overcome iit.

After listening to this episode, you’ll understand three ways society, and therefore we may  perceive ourselves as teachers, and how to shift that perception and our self-talk so that you can step into your amazing role as the number one influence on student achievement in your classroom.

Are you ready?

Let’s do this.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-s-behind-teacher-self-talk

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

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainableteacherchallenge

Brenda in 4th grade, Keri in 7th grade math, Jessica in high school chemistry, Megan in Algebra 2, and Charles in high school ELA… all are teachers who flipped their classrooms this past school year and are now on the other side of their hard work reaping the rewards of the flipped model and ready to share their own and their student success with you.

I’m compiling experiences into this one episode and hope that the stories shared allow you to see the possibilities for your own classroom and daily teaching life.

After listening to this episode you’ll be inspired by the success teachers of the flipped classroom have found, and see yourself in their transformation, knowing that this time next year, your classroom or student success story will be told.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/flipped-classroom-success-stories

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

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

I’m betting you’ve had a student come to you at the end of the semester or grading period to ask if there’s anything they can do to improve their grade, and your answer is, yes, you could’ve cared and done your work months ago - but caring now is too little too late.

Or maybe you’ve had a student come to you about how they were only one or two points away from an A on the test, after you had already slightly rounded up their score, and now they were asking you to round it up more.

I’m betting you’ve had any number of experiences like these whose true, underlying meaning is that the student cares more about the grade they receive in your class than they  do the learning experience.

This is not a one-classroom, one-school, or one-region issue.  This is a systemic, culture-wide issue inside of education that I will say, I’ve seen some improvements in over my years in the classroom, but I’m not sure will ever truly go away.

I mean it when I say that I don’t think the game of grades will ever cease to exist completely in education, but I have made the commitment inside of my own classroom, and would love to help you make the commitment as well to absolutely centralize LEARNING over grades inside my classroom.

And that’s what we’ll dive into in this episode.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel ready to take your classroom culture by the horns and make it reflect the messing process of learning as the reward, rather than the game of grades, teaching our students a much more valuable life lesson than any grade can.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-end-game-of-a-sustainable-teacher 

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

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

Now that the 2020-2021 school year has come to a close, we can all look back and realize the race it was to lessen the ramifications and decrease the learning gaps created by the shutdowns that occurred in the spring of 2020.

And when I say it was a race, I mean it was a rat race, with tons of hurdles, obstacles, disqualifications, delayed starts, and crap on the track and anything else that symbolizes hardship in our foot race analogy here.

Learning and achievement differences have always existed, but the shutdowns of 2020 put all kids’ learning in a jar, shook it up, and laid it out for us to clean up.  And here’s a big takeaway for today’s episode… That clean up process is not finishing as we end this school year. 

We will notice those learning gaps indefinitely.  And we must respond in-kind.

So as we reflect on how to close these gaps, let’s do so with the facts in mind that 

1. This is a long game, and gaps will not close in one year, so let’s prepare our classroom and differentiation strategies accordingly, and
2. Let’s keep the long game in mind for ourselves as well, because if we just stab at any one strategy trying to find a solution, our sustainability will be the first sacrifice in the name of what’s best for students.  So let’s strive to do both - maintain our sustainability while being ultra-effective in the classroom.

And for these reasons, I’ve got three tips for you today on why the principles of flipped learning will allow you to flourish in the long game of closing learning gaps left by 2020, but doing so in ways that preserve your sustainability in the process.

After listening to this episode you’ll go from feeling helpless amongst the learning gaps, to empowered and in control with the differentiation techniques of the flipped classroom, ready to respond to the needs of each of your future students.

So let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES:
https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/responding-to-learning-gaps-left-by-2020

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

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP:
https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

I am control freak.  I am also a work horse, and am productivity obsessed.

I’m sharing all these things about myself in this episode because maybe you can relate, especially in your career and daily teacher-life, but also because I want you to know that as much as I preach streamline, reduce, fight for your own sustainability, I want you to know that when I say  these things, I’m also speaking directly to myself.

Working for your own sustainability is a journey, not a destination.  Meaning we will never arrive at one place where we look around and realize, “Ok, yes, my daily life is sustainable now.”  I don’t know, maybe we will, but I for sure know that if we can say that to ourselves, we won’t last if we don’t continually do the work to prioritize our sustainability.

So, in this episode we are going to focus on the why behind sustainability, as in, what exactly are we after, what does sustainability mean and look like, and how will we know when we get there.

After listening to this episode you’ll feel empowered to own your teacher-life sustainability, knowing that you don’t HAVE to do all the things, but can feel confident in your effectiveness in the classroom now that you know the true end game of sustainability.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/the-end-game-of-a-sustainable-teacher 

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

FLIPPED CLASSROOM WORKSHOP: https://www.teachonamission.com/workshop

Our summer looks like this.... Me wearing a ball cap and athletic shorts with flip-flops, no makeup, and lots of sun - and us traveling, camping, and doing all the things as a family (with a summer evening date night worked in there too... anyone got a good date night idea for us?).

What does your summer normally look like? And what do you want it to look like this year?

This is what we talk about in today's episode on the Sustainable Teacher, 3 Summer Must-Dos for a Sustainable Teacher and Parent.

And we take a break from the normal teacher talk, and get more personal, because - HEY - we need to be personally sustainable as well... the life part of the work-life balance, right?

So if you're here for the LIFE part of the work-life balancing act as we strive for sustainability together be sure to listen to this episode.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/3-summer-must-dos-for-a-sustainable-teacher-parent

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

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge

I have an analogy for you that will take us through the duration of this episode. Here it is. Throughout the school year, we each have multiple spinning plates in the air as teachers and as human beings. Each facet of our life is one spinning plate, and it’s our job to keep them spinning and in the air lest they drop and shatter.

Summer break, then, is a time for us to put down all the educational, teachery plates we keep spinning for 9-10 months of the year so that we can focus on other plates. Summer is an incredible thing for teachers - this is no news to you - but truly, it is time for us to refuel and rejuvenate in whatever aspect of our life we want.

In this episode I’d like to offer some food for thought on how we can use summer to fuel our sustainability throughout the year. Hence the title What is Summer to a Sustainable Teacher. So stick around areas within this topic that we’ll be pondering and discussing today, and if it’s an episode and a message that you’re loving, I would so appreciate you letting us know by subscribing, rating and reviewing the podcast.

Alright, let’s get to it.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES: https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/what-is-summer-to-a-sustainable-teacher

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

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER CHALLENGE: https://www.teachonamission.com/sustainable-teacher-challenge