If I had stayed in teaching, I'm not sure how long I would have lasted, to be honest. I also may never have come to the conclusion that I am neurodivergent. Recently it dawned on me why the structure of the teaching / instructional day was so difficult for me to manage at times. On … Continue reading Teaching while AuDHD
Category: teaching
Recovery of the mind & being an agent of change in society at large
Recovery is hard, but recovery of the mind is even harder. Since I've found myself with quite a lot of free time, I've been thinking a lot. Often to my detriment thanks to those lovely thought spirals. But as I round the corner in recovery, now is the time to really consider and examine my … Continue reading Recovery of the mind & being an agent of change in society at large
The leaving manifesto
The realization dawned on me that I needed to leave. It’s not in a “oh my God get me out of here” way or a “I’m running as fast as I can towards something new” way. It’s just a “it’s time” way. It’s not desperate or overly negative or toxic. It just is. I think … Continue reading The leaving manifesto
Finding and holding onto the optimistic
Today's post is a re-"print" of a reflection I wrote over five years ago after teaching a specific summer course to international military members. For some reason, the spring months are usually where I reflect on my teaching career and especially this year, remember the good, the positive, the optimistic. This is different than "toxic … Continue reading Finding and holding onto the optimistic
I’m cut out for this
I realize that I don't write much about my "other" life: the hours of my life I spend as a public school teacher. I do my best to have healthy boundaries between work and play, and in the past year this need has become more pronounced. I use my commute and other teachers who are … Continue reading I’m cut out for this
Thoughts on a second read-through of “Deep Work”
Goodreads review of Cal Newport's Deep Work here. Spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness and you permanently reduce your capacity to perform deep work.Cal Newport This quote in and of itself is quite alarmist, and the reason I re-read this book. I had read it previously in 2017, surprisingly long ago. I … Continue reading Thoughts on a second read-through of “Deep Work”
Plan A is Plan A
In a one-on-one session with a student today, these literal words came out of my mouth: "Bear with me with biology; it's been 20 years since I've had this class." (For the record, I teach ESOL but a student came to me for language help with her bio class.) I became a teacher long before … Continue reading Plan A is Plan A
Snap out of it
The world is at a fever pitch right now. Everything is heightened, stressed, tenuous, uncertain. Almost anything could be the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were. Everyday I resist the urge to actively look for said straw. It's tempting to fall into a feeling of hopelessness and live just for today. I've … Continue reading Snap out of it
A Little Bit (of) Sad
Today during a lesson with a newcomer student, she and I were chatting in Spanish and she said that I seemed a little sad to her. I told her, I was a little tired actually. And in her sweet Honduran Spanish, looking down at the letters she was tracing with her adorable dark pigtail braids, … Continue reading A Little Bit (of) Sad
An unfortunate rite of passage with an okay ending.
Infertility has been an unfortunate rite of passage. It's something I didn't know I'd have to go through, unlike other rites of passage, and until I did, there's a lot I didn't know or realize about life in general. Funny how specific life circumstances can teach us so much about just... life. Fertility or the … Continue reading An unfortunate rite of passage with an okay ending.
MPM 2.0: mercy unmasked 