HOW TO USE THIS BOOK You will need 30 seconds. That's all. Start at the beginning, or turn to a random page. Every page has a title, a benefit, and simple directions. Read and complete the task on the page. If you know that you are in the mood for a creative, confidence-boosting, stress-releasing, or peace-promoting task, use the Index at the back of the book to choose the one that fits your interest. Notice the positive changes you go through because you took that 30 second break. Many of these tasks can also be shared with your students, allowing them to benefit too. The changes you'll experience will last for far more than 30 seconds. You'll find yourself gaining more presence, patience, confidence and becoming much happier if you do this regularly. The energy in your classroom will positively change, and your students are sure to notice too. Using this book could become a wonderful little daily ritual. By the way, the writing tasks have a blank page beside them for jotting your notes. This means that all you need for those is a pen. If there isn't a pen nearby, use a pencil. Even a broken crayon will work. You probably have plenty in your classroom. It's ok to write in the book. Later, when you read what you wrote, it will become part of your reflective process, displaying how you've grown.

Passion cannot be faked. Students can tell when we're just going through the motions. But how can you summon the energy to teach with passion when there are so many distractions pulling you from what really matters? And if you barely have time for taking care of yourself, how can you have anything left to give your students? Don't wait for teaching to become fun again: plan for it! Your enthusiasm will become unshakeable as you learn how to: -Create curriculum "bright spots" that you can't wait to teach -Gain energy from kids instead of letting them drain you -Uncover real meaning and purpose for every single lesson -Incorporate playfulness and make strong connections with kids -Stop letting test scores and evaluations define your success -Construct a self-running classroom that frees you to teach -Say "no" without guilt and make your "yes" really count -Establish healthy, balanced habits for bringing work home -Determine what matters most and let go of the rest -Innovate and adapt to make teaching an adventure Unshakeable is a collection of inspiring mindset shifts and practical, teacher-tested ideas for getting more satisfaction from your job. It's an approach that guides you to find your inner drive and intrinsic motivation which no one can take away. Unshakeable will help you incorporate a love of life into your teaching, and a love of teaching into your life. Learn how to tap into what makes your work inherently rewarding and enjoy teaching every day...no matter what.

This essential resource helps educators tackle common and challenging dilemmas that arise in today's classroom--such as diversity, privilege, and intersectionality. This book examines common issues educators face when teaching social justice and diversity-related courses and offers best practices for addressing them. Contributors discuss the many roles instructors play, inside and outside of college and university classrooms, for example, in handling personal threats, responsibly incorporating current events into classroom discussion, navigating their own stigmatized or privileged identities, dealing with bias in teaching evaluations, and engaging in self-care.

This book reviews the extensive research on mindfulness, as well as the research on stress, positive psychology, happiness, optimism, gratitude, kindness, compassion and self-compassion to make the case for brief active practices that cultivate mindfulness, reduce stress, sustain a positive outlook and promote kindness and compassion.

Teachers show up in different forms and in many chapters of a child's life. Teaching is literacy and numeracy but, most importantly, it's showing up with your whole heart. It's walking kids-and yourself-through the hardest conversations about trauma, loss, grief, racism, or violence. As we work to piece together our education system in the fallout from global pandemic, the focus must be on the teachers. If the people in charge-those teachers-aren't OK, the students don't stand a chance. Dr. Jody Carrington and Laurie McIntosh bring together theory and practice, weaving the science of human development with real-life stories and tangible strategies told by those most qualified to share them-our teachers. This book is for those who need a place to land when they want to be reminded that, simply by the choice of their profession, they are a powerful force in shaping our world. "Teachers These Days is filled with heartfelt happies and heartbreaking hurts. I connect with the theory-into-practice way that it is set up, and I appreciated the voices of the others in their raw, poignant stories." -Barbara Gruener, teacher and school counselor "Teachers These Days honors the work and experience of educators while providing a familiar context to all teachers. The section on grief is captivating and visceral and beautiful." -Meaghan Reist and Shelley Smith, vice principals and creators of Culture Curators EDU

What should teachers do on the days after major events, tragedies, and traumas, especially when injustice is involved? This beautifully written book features teacher narratives and youth-authored student spotlights that reveal what classrooms do and can look like in the wake of these critical moments. Dunn incisively argues for the importance of equitable commitments, humanizing dialogue, sociopolitical awareness, and a rejection of so-called pedagogical neutrality across all grade levels and content areas. By highlighting the voices of teachers who are pushing beyond their concerns and fears about teaching for equity and justice, readers see how these educators address negative reactions from parents and administrators, welcome all student viewpoints, and negotiate their own feelings. These inspiring stories come from diverse areas such as urban New York, rural Georgia, and suburban Michigan, from both public and private schools, and from classrooms with both novice and veteran teachers. Teaching on Days After can be used to support current classroom teachers and to better structure teacher education to help preservice teachers think ahead to their future classrooms. Book Features: Narratives from teachers and students that represent a diverse range of identities, locations, grade levels, and content areas.Examples of days after that teachers remember, including 9/11, elections, natural disasters, gun violence, police brutality, social uprisings, Supreme Court decisions, immigration policies, and more.Examples of days after that K–12 and college-aged students remember, including what their teachers did and didn’t do and how they experienced these moments.