Smart mice

Sometimes things look impossible. Like there's no way out, no possibility of change, no sliver lining. And the worst possible thing you could hear is "It'll get better", because deep down you somehow know it won't.

Getting stuck in a downward spiral is easy and the only way out is using your will power to try and see something good and attainable and go for it.

If what you're doing isn't working, try something else.

And if what you're telling yourself you'd never tolerate from a friend, stop saying it. Be a smart mouse and give yourself a treat.

 

Love to all (far and near),
Do

A way of looking up :)

This is just playing around. It made me happy.



Love to all,
Dora

Stage fright and other ghouls

Have you ever found yourself asking: "How and why did I get myself into it in the first place?" about an hour before having to step out in front of a group of people? Public speaking is a tricky thing and the trick about it is to make it look easy, appealing even - which makes the pressure even higher, if you're one to feel it. But the hardest bit is stage fright. Or to put it in the words of FDR (inaugural speech, March 1933):

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

and Sir Francis Bacon (De Augmentis Scientiarum, Book II, Fortitudo (1623).):

Nothing is terrible except fear itself.

I don't think fear is necessarily something bad - if observed and learnt from it can be precious (not to mention it saved a lot of our ancestors from hungry bears and angry crowds). Sometimes there are things to be afraid of.

The point is for it not to stop us in growing and changing things for the better.

There is a potential to go on a downward spiral before having to give a presentation, but once you did get yourself into public speaking, there's no point in analyzing how, but (as always) focus on what you can control:

1. Make sure you're comfortable and comfortably acquainted with the subject matter of your talk.
2. Preparation, preparation, preparation - but be kind to your voice and tailor the preparation to yourself: some people need to go through all the details, some do the work in a very short time and without saying a word.
3. Find three points in the audience to look at - you won't be able to look at everyone if there are a lot of people there. Kind faces help the situation. 
4. Have some water available.
5. Take your time before the event. Do whatever you feel is good for you. 
6. Try to be aware of your body language.
7. Breathe.
8. Speak.

Everything in life is taking a chance: sometimes smaller, sometimes greater. No gain is certain only if no chance is taken. 

All my love, 

Dora

Mute

It's November and the time of colds and flu has begun a long time ago. With it, many of us have lost our voice - and it is one of the most important teaching tools (unless you're a proponent of the Silent Way ;)).
So here I'm re-posting a slightly revised Blogathon post on voice care. I know it'll come in useful.

Here are some tips in voice care a doctor and a speech therapist from my county gave us teachers in a lecture (combined with some useful links I’ve found):



DO:

• Rest your voice ( if you’ve been using it for 4 hours, you need to rest it for one hour)
• Drink water or juice in regular intervals during the day
• Learn how to do breathing exercises
• Stretch your neck and shoulders
• Warm your voice up before work - here are some Wise Warm-Ups you could use.
• Sleep 
• Get your student’s attention with a gesture like raising your hands or by using spatial anchors. 
• See your GP if you inexplicably lose your voice.
• Read some general info on voice care here. 
• Read some basics on how voice is produced.
• Here are Top Tips for Voice Care.

DON’T

• Yell, whisper or imitate other peoples’ voices or sounds - or get training on how to do it safely.
• Clear your throat by coughing.
• Ingest anything too hot. 
• Sing with a hoarse voice.
• Eat 2-3 hours before sleeping: it causes acid reflux which can damage the vocal chords.
• Try to outvoice a crowd.
• Forget to sleep.

Do you maybe have any student activities to help teachers be quiet in case of sudden in-class loss of voice? Having a student assistant can be a lifesaver.


Hope I’ve helped.

Love to all,

Dora


*UPDATE*

Go easy on dairy products.

This one's not for travellers...

...or photographers, because they already know it. It's for those stuck in an apocalypse they just can't get out of.



Have a really good day!!
Over&Out
Dora

School as a safe base (HUPE Rijeka branch talk Prezi)

Today I gave the second of the three planned talks about what we did during the Difficult Learners course. It was a small gathering of enthusiasts of all ages and levels of experience and hopefully they enjoyed it as much as I did. Here's the Prezi I prepared - it was put together with a lot of effort and care. It also finally, covers everything about the attachment theory and its significance in the classroom environment.

Rethinking challenging learners on Prezi

And yet, there's so much left out, 'cause I had to boil everything down to just forty minutes. ;)))

So, until the next bout of inspiration, remember to always be your own best friend.

Over and out,

Do

Take a stand!

Teaching profession does usually attract people who have in common the will and persistence to care for others and help them grow. Also commonly in that care for others, they forget to care for themselves and get lost among the papers, books and layers of chalk. So this Teachers' Day I decided to pass on the words of UNESCO:

Taking a stand for the teaching profession means providing adequate training, ongoing professional development, and protection for teachers’ rights.
All over the world, a quality education offers hope and the promise of a better standard of living. However, there can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers.
Teachers are among the many factors that keep children in school and influence learning. They help students think critically, process information from several sources, work cooperatively, tackle problems and make informed choices.
Why take a stand for teachers? Because the profession is losing status in many parts of the world.. World Teachers’ Day calls attention (to) the need to raise the status of the profession - not only for the benefit of teachers and students, but for society as a whole, to acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in building the future.

So in the face of everything stacked against our hopes and dreams keep leaving your mark and making a difference. But never forget to care for yourself - it's the only way you can be the best possible version of you for others. 

Have a happy one colleagues!!

All my love and respect,

Do 

If what you are doing isn't working, do something else.

At the beginning of each lesson Marie asks us how we feel about learning - so far we've answered using fingers as a scale from 1 to 10, and with thumbs up/down. It's a good way of identifying what state the group is in, even if it's a large class - it focuses them on their own state of mind and can open up some important issues, the class and the teacher need to deal with before doing what's planned for the day.

Yesterday morning, each person in the group was given a piece of paper with a word they had to memorize. We gave the papers back to Marie and then we were given the task: Each person has a word, together you can form a sentence - try to do it. We had fun doing it and were actually really happy when we did it, even though it's a very simple and, only at the surface, boring grammar/syntax exercise. But then we got to analyzing it and here's what came up:

• Not only did we do grammar, we also had to negotiate and share ideas, sometimes assert ourselves - which are all good strategies to practice. However, in a classroom full of students speaking the same language, their mother tongue would probably be used mostly. That takes away the foreign language practice dimension, but they still practice inter-personal skills. Not bad, is it?
• You can give the students any sentence you want to give them. Group them in which ever way you want. This is an exercise for all ages and all contexts.
• In order to succeed we HAD to LISTEN to each other. I don't know if I've mentioned a lack of empathy among my students, but they really need to learn how to listen to other people, for which this exercise is great. 
• Right at the beginning of the exercise, one of my colleagues said: "Can we write it down?" and another said "I don't think that's allowed." The interesting thing about the question was that I was thinking the same thing and suddenly I realized how much seeing the word means to me. I guess I'm more of a visual learner than I thought. And now when I think of it - with all the writing I do all the time, and all the notes I take... Of course I am. The interesting thing about the answer is that nobody contested it - We made the rule ourselves and stuck to it. Nobody banned writing, Marie just didn't tell us to write, because she wanted us all to speak and by not having the words written down, each of us HAD to SAY at least one word - a good strategy for getting the really quiet ones speak.
• Praise them. Name the interpersonal skills they showed well. Tell them - "You helped. You organized. You showed understanding." 
• At the beginning of the activity we were all faced with a little bit of uncertainty and frustration - not knowing what comes next caused it. Later on we were able to analyze how we reacted to it, what role in the group we took on, etc. We concluded that most of us stayed calm because we trusted others in the classroom and the trainer, but also our own ability to deal with the task. Kids who lack trust in any of those respects, do not stay calm. That's why too much uncertainty can lead to disruption in the classroom due to some kids feeling helpless and giving up. So, if you see your students get stuck with this task, provide them with a clue. BUT! Do not over-manage- a little frustration leads to growth.
• And if you get stuck, do what's written in the title. 

All my love,

Do

DAY TWO: Angel's share

This is a film tip for teachers and I was not paid to do it. ;)

 

The film is a well-told story about finding hidden talents in the most unexpected places. There's actually much more to it, but I'm not going to go into the social critique which the film undoubtedly makes, for the simplest of reasons: I want to keep this post light. And today my group did a lot on the topic of finding the energy we need to do our job in the places we do not count on or forget about when they are needed the most. Here are some things I'd like to share.

Stop and think: How many of you stop doing exercise or things you love to do in your spare time when the workload rises or tough times come around? The truth is sticking to what makes you feel good might prove crucial for you to cope with the troubles before you. Think of stress as the common cold - the best cure is prevention, i.e. helping yourself feel well. Remember:

IT'S NOT SELFISH OR INDULGENT TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF...

it's the only way you can take care of others well.

In a tough situation take a physical step back and take a deep breath. There's no such thing as a perfect reaction, there's only the "good enough" reaction, and the only way to figure that one out is to calm yourself. Later on you can reflect on it. Maybe you'll come up with a better idea, maybe not, but if you learn something from reflection, especially if it's about yourself and your own behavior- you've done well.  We need to get to know ourselves as much as possible, in order to react more effectively in different situations and to different people.

If you feel having a lesson plans is not really working with some classes, try to think of it this way: Each lesson plan is a plan for an unpredictable situation and if every detail of it works, it's nothing short of a small miracle. I'm not saying lesson planning is not worth it, I'm saying lesson plans shouldn't be used as crutches, but as tools.

Train your brain to think positively. Every day list 6 highlights (big or small) of the day. For most people the first three or four come easy, but most of us had to think harder to find the fifth and the sixth. 

Be your own best friend. Never tell yourself things you wouldn't like to hear from a friend. 

And remember: Focus on the things you can control, as small as they are, they may constitute the basis for change.

Shine!

All my love,

Do