“What day is it?” is a common question during the space between Christmas and New Year’s. Our routines are completely altered and most of those normal signposts of the week disappear in the busyness of getting together with family and friends. This week, when I was walking the dog and suddenly saw the garbage bins… Continue reading “What Day Is It?” Phenomena
Tag: retiredteacher
Why Move Forward?
She made a compelling case. When a young teacher asked me the other day, if I would consider doing some supply teaching, I hesitated. She caught me at a particularly bumpy time, when building my new business was not going as smoothly as I’d hoped. There are so many things to learn and so many… Continue reading Why Move Forward?
When You Choose Change Vs When It Chooses You
Statistically, we experience life changes every 12 to 18 months.* You’d think we’d be good at it by now, and for the most part we are very good at adapting. Changes can be thrust upon us by forces outside our control. As teachers, we adapted to changes that popped up unexpectedly in curriculum, board policies,… Continue reading When You Choose Change Vs When It Chooses You
Keep Curiosity Alive
Genius Hour was a popular concept a few years ago and I used it with my class. Every week the students would have time to pursue projects that they had designed. This was student-initiated learning: their curiosity leading to a project that they would share with the class at the end of term. It was… Continue reading Keep Curiosity Alive
My First Time Being Coached
“What was it like working with a life coach?“ I discovered that a life coach doesn’t help you fix yourself. They help you find yourself. It’s like having a second person helping you to look for your glasses. You’ll find them, and find them a lot faster, when you’re with someone than looking by yourself.… Continue reading My First Time Being Coached
The Day Planner Experiment
As anyone who is retired knows, time management in retirement is a struggle. It comes as a surprise that having “all the time in the world” does not actually help you get anything done. It’s ironic and annoying. Recently, I discovered the work of Nir Eyal on Distraction and I’m trying his time management technique… Continue reading The Day Planner Experiment
Retirement Is Saying Hello And Goodbye
All change is saying yes to the new thing and also, saying no to the old. When I retired, I was saying hello to a new exciting, chapter of my life. But, as with many hellos that I’ve had over the years, I didn’t see all the goodbyes until much later. I’m experiencing desiderium: a… Continue reading Retirement Is Saying Hello And Goodbye
Are You Adventurous?
The stories we tell ourselves about who we are have a tremendous impact on our decisions. As a teacher, I saw the students who believed that they were good at math, be happy to try new math problems. Students who thought they were good writers, eagerly scribbled away in their journals, and students who believed… Continue reading Are You Adventurous?
A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
I’m determined not to get sucked into that whirlwind of work again. Before I retired from teaching, I was a chronic over-worker. I enjoyed my job (for the most part), and filling my out-of-school hours and weekends with work felt necessary and purposeful. Perhaps it was just easier to do more work than to figure… Continue reading A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
Where Planning Falls Short
Having a detailed plan sounds like a solid idea, something an adult who is organized would do. A positive. As a teacher, I was required to have lesson plans in case I was absent and a supply teacher needed to take over my class. I was also required by my administrators to have weekly plans,… Continue reading Where Planning Falls Short
Retired, And Now What? 