I’ve made it clear to the universe and my family and friends that this will be my last year teaching in a traditional classroom in a traditional high school. Something else awaits and, while I know not yet what it is, I know that something exists. Something that does not deplete this introvert’s energy so… Keep Reading
Love.
(Update: in 2020 we made an intentional change to the name of the group discussed in this post. Story on that coming up soon) I started the hashtag #theteachertribe and, soon after, the Facebook group because it felt right. One of those things you do because you can’t not do it. So I did. Then last… Keep Reading
Today, We Work.
Friends, yesterday we held space. Today, we work. I got an email from a teacher I used to coach who works in the south. His class is about a 50/50 split in which presidential candidate they and their families supported. The pro-DT half told him they are not racist or sexist and they hate that… Keep Reading
Serving One Another, Serving our Students
A note to a teacher I coach. A note to all of us. #theteachertribe Hey Love. Hold space for them to share their worries. Reassure them that they are safe with you. That you love them. That everyone you know loves them and they are safe with them too. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote… Keep Reading
My Two (or Five) Cents
So many of us are so tired this time of year. The tape plays, “I’m so tired…I’m so tired of being tired…I’m so tired of not making any progress…I’m so tired of this sh%#ty system…” and it goes on. And on. It can wear on anyone, most especially someone in charge of the care and… Keep Reading
Courage or Comfort
Note: This post was originally written in July of 2019. I write this post at a very particular moment in time. The leaders in positions of power in my country are perpetuating hate in ways I could not have imagined three short years ago. It is a time of both reckoning and rumble, a time… Keep Reading
So I’m Not Alone?
I recently came across this hilarious and oh-so-true take on the 5 Stages of Death and Dying, only in this case, it’s the 5 Stages of Grading. I don’t know one teacher who adores the drudgery of grading; in fact when I ask teachers what they like least, “Grading” is often the answer (along with… Keep Reading
Full Circle
It’s Sunday. In the Lusiani-Elliott house that means it’s cooking day. Every Sunday I cook a traditional Italian meal in hopes my children, as 4th generation Italian-Americans, can stay connected at least in part to the culture that is so important to me. Maybe one day it will be equally important to them. For now,… Keep Reading
Possibility
Certainty is a part of my DNA, the perfect mix of a childhood nurturing and God-given nature, both relishing the known, the concrete, the for certain. I love it so much that I seek it out whenever possible, always choosing what has specifics I can get my head around, good or bad, versus what is… Keep Reading
Third Thankful Thursday
As of tomorrow, school’s out and summer’s in. For teachers, this is what we call New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow the floors will get swept and the cats will get brushed and the produce will get washed and put away. Next we’ll clean our classrooms and pack up all the work we’ll take home with us… Keep Reading
