Before the pandemic even hit, I was already worried about how much I was not reading with my children. Is it bad if I skip story time at bedtime? Is it okay that we only have a couple books in the house? And, now, in a pandemic where the library is closed, are my children progressing at the rate that they should be at all?

In today's episode, I sit down with Katie Kurumada, Ph.D, who is a reading specialist, assistant professor at Georgia State University, and works in Reading Recovery. She greatly alleviated my concerns as a mother and was able to relate to the struggle between knowing what's best as a teacher and going with societal norms in education. Her children even made a little cameo in the episode.

This is Katie Kurumada's teacher voice.

Enjoy!

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Has this pandemic taken a toll on your mental health? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with author, Grace Stevens who wrote a wonderful book called, "Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers." And it is incredibly relatable to our current situation. We take a moment to discuss these scientifically supported habits, how they are particularly important in today's crisis, and what steps Ms. Stevens is personally taking to maintain her own health and the health of her loved ones.

As if participating in this episode wasn't enough, Ms. Stevens has even put together a free Positive Mindset Habits workbook that has been tweaked specifically for teachers in this current pandemic. If you are interested in this workbook or any of Grace Stevens' published work, you will find all of the links below.

Positive Mindset Journal for Teachers: Six Weeks of happy thoughts, inspirational quotes, and reflections for a positive teaching experience during distance learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pme2hbMNbWetKqHVvUVcZegii3Z8uQzr/view?usp=sharing


Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers BOOK
https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Mindset-Habits-Teachers-Engagement/dp/B07FFM8RX9/ref


Happy Teacher Classroom Blog
http://happy-classrooms.com/

Originally, this episode was supposed to be part 2 of the Episode four, but, instead, it is the full interview. It was just too good to split into two episodes!

Here, Robin Greene tells us how he, his students and their families have been impacted as they suddenly transitioned to online learning. He describes his innovative uses of digital tools to promote community, how he and his wife juggle working and parenting from home, and about how he has welcomed the parents of his students as co-teachers.

Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and listen in on our conversation!

For information about The Educator's Book Club, here is the link!
www.educatorsbookclub.com/

The impact the COVID19 pandemic has had on education is more than can fit into one episode. Honestly, it's more than can fit into two. However, Robin Greene and I have attempted to glaze the surface in this two part series. In this episode, we explore a bit about what it was like when the quarantine was first implemented, what became Greene's focus during this time, and how parents become our colleagues and co-teachers.

Often, teachers enter the field of education because they loved school. I'm not different. I appreciated all that my teachers taught me and wanted to do the same for my future students. However, I've also learned that I've adopted the habit of wanting a perfect score on life's "assignments." But perfect scores don't exist. Room for improvement is always there. And feedback should always be welcome. Join me as I explore this topic and share how I'm shaping the way I think and act on receiving feedback.

Has anyone else entered education doe-eyed and ready to inspire young minds without realizing that disagreements are inevitable? In this episode, I dive a bit into how I feared confrontation at the start of my career and how I have, since, learned to shape my views of confrontation (and myself).

Perfect moments don't exist and waiting to start something until the stars align is not a very good plan. As a planner, I'm giving a glimpse into how I broke my habit of waiting for the perfect moment and decided to start this podcast. This is my teacher voice.