The Daring Librarian

Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. Because this is the time of the year when I reflect on being thankful, I'd like to share a simple thing you can do that will help you get through the hard times in teaching. As with any profession, there are awesome days and there are difficult days. During those down days, it's good to have something to remind you why we do this thing called teaching, librarianship, & education.  It's Handy to Keep The Thanks Handy I still love a manila folder!  I keep the thank you notes from kiddos in a folder in my desk and it's labeled, Stuff from KIDS . But I also found it helpful to take a digital picture of the Thank you notes. too! Just in case of age, fire, zombies, you know....the usual. And to be able to look at them anytime I needed an emotional pick-me-up. That folder, on my Flickr gallery is called...Happy !  And Then BuzzFeed ...

5 Ways to Reflect, & Not Regret, Teaching OR... Summer Thoughts for Fall Success! I love teaching! I love being a School Teacher Librarian & Technology Specialist. I love my practice, my profession, my school, my library, my students, my families, and my community! I can't imagine doing anything else that feeds my soul like being an educator. I love the seasons and the time and tide of it. * Full confession, this is an update of a blog post I wrote a few years ago - because I think we should reflect on these subjects every summer or every year. Every new school year is a do-over. Any and all the mistakes or things you didn't get to do the year before can be corrected the next year. It's like an on-going karmic gift that keeps on giving year after year! I can't think of any other profession that gives you such a clear start and stop and a time to reflect. The great thing about summers off (other than that they are made of awesome) is the ability...

  Dare Everyday. You know, my brand is sometimes a lot to live up to. I'm not always daring. I won't buy a 3D printer until I know I can get projects kiddos create cranked out in a timely fashion or that we can reliably afford the materials and upkeep supplies and I don't think I'll ever ditch Dewey.  You don't ALWAYS have to be daring in BIG ways, consider daring something small every day.  Dare to keep smiling to that kid who never smiles back. It's easy to smile to the kiddos you adore & have a connection with. But try to smile consistently, to that kiddos who is all prickles and burs. You will be surprised at the results. It took me 8 months once to get a reluctant grin back. Dare to take pictures of your kids being awesome and daring every day.  Consider daring to Say Yes! To a School Instagram ! We always have our phones handy, consider using Instagram, Vine, & Flickr to share great moments with parents and the community. When thinking...