How to Increase Your Happiness and Improve Your Effectiveness A teacher friend recently came to me upset after receiving her evaluation. Usually rated “highly effective,” she’d received a rating of “effective” this time. “I guess I need to go back to spending weeknights and weekends in my classroom,” she sighed. “I let myself slip this … Read More
Seeing Visible Change Inside and Outside the Classroom So … we know that gratitude is an important practice for both students and teachers. And that there are a lot of activities that can be incorporated in the classroom to implement this practice. But without results, then what’s the point? Luckily, implementing gratitude activities in the classroom … Read More
Incorporating Gratitude Activities in the Classroom My first blog post about “gratitude in the classroom” has produced a lot of feedback! I’ve heard from so many of you—you’re sharing ideas, asking questions, and totally getting why gratitude is such an important practice in the classroom. I’m loving what I’m seeing! In that first post, I … Read More
A Powerful Practice with Real Results I often talk about the “heart work” of education. That part of the job where we’re not just creating an atmosphere of learning—we’re building relationships with our students that will last long after they leave the classroom. To me, that’s what it’s all about really. Relationships trump content because … Read More
A Lot of Learning, A Lot of Inspiration, A Lot of Fun The 2018 Strobel Summit is officially on the books! We had nearly 5000 awesome educators from around the world register for this free online professional development series—and we could not be more grateful to all of you who participated. New School Year—New Ideas … Read More
How to Create a Safe and Loving Classroom Environment “When my children used to walk in the room … I looked at them to see if they had buckled their trousers or if their hair was combed or if their socks were up. You think your affection and your deep love is on display because you’re … Read More
How to Find Your Happiness Balance Inside and Outside the Classroom I often receive messages from my readers thanking me for posting about the important issues that so many educators face. I’ve been where they are; I’ve lived through a lot of the same things they have. And I love that we can connect, share … Read More
Personal Renewal is a MUST for Teachers In 2011, I submitted a grant to the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Grant committee. This is a program for Indiana teachers who want to be personally renewed outside of their profession. (Can you all give me a “Hallelujah!”?) The goal of this grant is to recognize and renew our … Read More
How a Troubled Student Impacted My Life—and Changed His This is Corey. Years ago, I was his 4th-grade teacher. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Corey struggled with an alcoholic mother and a dad who really wasn’t a part of his life. They had no money, no support, and he and his older brother had … Read More
My son, Spencer, has been blessed to have Amanda Atkins as his ELA teacher for the last two years. She’s a progressive teacher, always willing to be a learner herself. The curriculum and expectations for her classes are extremely rigorous—and I’m 100% OK with that. She has prepared my son to handle complex texts and … Read More