I, Joy Kirr, am a middle school teacher, author, and speaker. My 7th grade ELA (English Language Arts) classes are working to improve their lives through student-directed learning - without marks throughout the year. This is a log of my learning experiences... Want to have me speak with your staff or facilitate a workshop? Here is my PORTFOLIO.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Who Teaches YOU?

Getting my haircut today, I had to ask: "Who does YOUR hair?"
Hairstylist - "One of the gals here."

A couple of months ago, I asked my massage therapist, "Who gives YOU massages?"
Therapist - "Before I hire new therapists, they have to give me a massage."

Got me thinking... I teach 7th graders. Who teaches ME?

This summer, I've pruned my PLN a bit. I've made sure to center around those that teach me. And it's made me feel much better. Much like my hair cut today...

You may not be able to see the difference, but I can feel it. It's the same during the school year...


Tomorrow, I'm heading to my first #PatioPD, thanks to a generous teacher who likes to try new things and learn from others. How else do I make sure those that impact my teaching get my attention? I use a tool such as Feedly to follow their most recent blog posts. I put them on my "first" list on Twitter, so I'm sure to catch their good vibes (tweets). I check on the hashtags they're using so I can "hang out" (virtually) with those other teachers who have growth mindsets. These people teach me by being great role models, and I learn invaluable lessons from them that, in turn, impact my students.

So... who teaches YOU? 

Who helps you to be your best for children? Where do you go to keep refreshed, challenged, and positive during the school year? Please respond in the comments so I can always go back to this post when I need a pick-me-up! I can then share your ideas with more educators - thank you for helping me learn! A shout-out to Sean Scanlon and Rakhi Mistry for inspiring this post.

Update: PatioPD on Thursday had me like...

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