It was in Grade Two when I first had the audacity to create an after-school writing club with a handful of friends. Audacious, because my teacher believed that although I showed hints of “potential,” my story craft was evidently pretty weak. Every week or so after the final bell rang, my little crew and I … Continue reading Am I a Storyteller?
Ep. 75 Teach Like a Pirate (With Dave Burgess)
Have you ever wanted to know the secret to truly achieving success? How to create rapport in less than one minute? What about rethinking your personal brand-everyone has one (you can either be intentional about it or let someone else create it for you)? What about how to guard against the destructive nature of perfectionism? … Continue reading Ep. 75 Teach Like a Pirate (With Dave Burgess)
Your Creativity Type?
Many people think that they're not creative. I'm not the "creative type," is what I've often heard my friends say before we embark on a decidedly creative activity like painting, card-making, party planning, or lesson creating. But, the truth is, all humans by definition are inherently creative. We're born that way. We're hardwired to be … Continue reading Your Creativity Type?
#kindnessninjas The October Challenge
Allie Apels and The Kindness Ninjas: I recently had the amazing Allie Apels of @joysofkinder on my podcast to discuss the transformative power of her brainchild "Kindness Ninjas" Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program in her kindergarten class (#kindnessninjas). Essentially, a few years ago, when Allie was faced with one of the most challenging groups of … Continue reading #kindnessninjas The October Challenge
Summer 2019 KindSight 101 Booklist
Summertime and the living is easy... Here we are, hopefully one step closer to relaxation than we were back in June. It occurred to me a while back that it would be fun to share a few of my favourite books about school, kids, kindness, and the human condition. I can't promise that it's all … Continue reading Summer 2019 KindSight 101 Booklist
E 67 – How to be a Connection Ninja (With David Knapp-Fisher)
How do you make authentic connections with people? How can we teach kids to do the same? What are some of the keys that will enable students to be successful in the uncertain future world they face? I want to introduce you to my friend, David Knapp-Fisher, a connection ninja, speaker, author, world-traveller, and speaking … Continue reading E 67 – How to be a Connection Ninja (With David Knapp-Fisher)
Favourite Mantras for the Classroom
I was inspired to create this post after hearing an episode of Barbara Gruener's Corner on Character podcast episodes. One of her guests talked about the power of mantras in helping to form a positive and encouraging classroom culture. I loved the idea. While I have strong values, I haven't always articulated these into classroom mantras so … Continue reading Favourite Mantras for the Classroom
E 66 – Choose to Rise (With Janelle Morrison)
We all have those moments, real life crashes that provide us with an opportunity to choose fear or choose to rise above the adversity and find a way to move forward. What does it take to be a real hero? How can we learn to rise above our circumstances, teaching our students to do the … Continue reading E 66 – Choose to Rise (With Janelle Morrison)
The 4 Secrets to Effective Teaching
Picture for a moment, your ideal student. As Dan and Chip Health counsel us to do in their ground-breaking book The Power of Moments, fill in the following sentence with what makes sense to you: Three-to -Five years from now, my students still know_____, are still able to do _____, or will continue to find value in … Continue reading The 4 Secrets to Effective Teaching
E 63 – Inspiring a BE KIND Culture (With Roman Nowak)
Ever wonder what the key to engagement for your students can be? How can connection be the key to achievement for our students? How do we tear down the incorrect beliefs we have that other teachers are perfect? Roman Nowak is a highschool teacher in Rockland, Ontario, Canada. A veritable kind of kindness, he hosted … Continue reading E 63 – Inspiring a BE KIND Culture (With Roman Nowak)
Morgane Michael 