So much for posting updates regularly??  Well a lot has happened since I had the idea to start a blog.  I think that there are tons, I mean TONS, of resources and awesome blogs out there to help teachers.  The problem that I had was sifting through all the information and finding what would work for me.  I had information overload!  I pinned a million ideas and have really only done a few.  Partly because I know I have to have a good lead in for a cool idea (can't just plop down a piece of paper in front of a student and say, "Make this cool thing I found on Pinterest--because it's fun and I told you too!"  The students have to see the value in it, even if it is fun.  So my hope is to help teachers sift through all the information available out there and find what you could use and run with it!

I have only ever taught special education.  That is my passion and my love.  However, there are so many students sitting in the regular classrooms that have gaps and deficits that impact their ability to acquire new information.  Personally, I hate labels.  Period.  When people ask me what I teach my response is always the same--"Children.  I teach children."  Each student is unique and wonderful and good a some things, great at others and not so hot in other areas.  The key is finding how to engage them in difficult tasks.

If you take only one thing, one tiny smidgen of advice from me, I hope it is this--building relationships is the key element to getting them to love school, learning, behaving and believing they can do anything.  It helps take away the fear of trying because it is safe to fail when you are loved and believed in.  Building relationships also carries over to creating and building a bridge with parents and family members.  A wise and wonderful principal once told me, "Ellis, they are sending us the best that they have every day."  I'll never forget that.  As a mother now, I understand that there is NO parent anywhere, that sends their student to school and is thinking, "I hope you get into soooo much trouble and that I get a hundred phone calls about your misbehavior."  Being compassionate should extend to parents too.

Lastly, be kind to yourself.  Teaching is a difficult profession.  You want to be the best at EVERYTHING!  Impossible!  Let others help you.  Call on colleagues who are better in some areas than you.  No one can do everything perfect.  Most teachers are perfectionists!  That's why we rock!  But also why we burn out quicker than a match in a rain storm.  Make sure to breathe, have fun during the day, laugh with your students (never at them), take time for yourself and set clear boundaries about work and stick to them.  Do not live, eat, and breathe your job at home.  Your family doesn't like this (they may not tell you because they love you).  Be present where you are.  Work late only one night a week.  Enjoy life, the things that make you happy and know that you ARE making a difference, even on your toughest days!

~Peace, Love, and Teaching
Lori Ellis-Beard