Weekly Report

Challenges Teachers Face

Explore effective strategies for improving boys' social skills, insights on teacher challenges, and tips for embracing winter.

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The Friday Five

Happy Friday!

I’m finishing the week’s newsletter in a state of student-led conference week teacher tired. Some highlights were watching my students interact with their parents, seeing lab report posters in science, and having many of my homeroom students volunteer to help with the Veterans' Day Assembly.

I'm excited to share Laura Geigner's "Earned Wisdom" this week. She helped me in many ways through her mentorship, and I'm grateful for her friendship. Laura offers effective classroom strategies, professional development tips, and her perspective on the lasting impact of dedicated educators on society. Check it out below. You can also explore the Why Edify Wisdom archives here.

Have a great weekend!

Reflection Questions for This Week:

How can you apply the strategies for improving boys' social skills in your classroom or educational setting? What challenges might you face, and how could you overcome them?
Considering teachers' challenges, what steps can you take to maintain your professional morale and work-life balance? How might you advocate for more relevant professional development in your school or district?
Reflecting on Kari Leibowitz's approach to winter, how can you shift a similar mindset to other challenging aspects of your personal or professional life? What specific actions could you take to reframe difficulties as opportunities for growth?

1 - How To Help Boys

Research indicates that boys face challenges in social connections and academic performance. These difficulties can result in isolation and lowered self-esteem, creating a cycle that further impacts their social and academic success. Moreover, societal expectations of masculinity often hinder boys from seeking assistance or expressing vulnerability. To address these issues, educators can implement six key strategies to help boys improve their relationships and classroom performance. These include connecting self-regulation with reputation, teaching boys to distinguish between different types of comments, providing structured social opportunities, facilitating informal socialization, recognizing individual needs for additional support, and fostering a shared responsibility for caring among peers. By implementing these approaches, schools can create supportive environments encouraging boys to develop better social skills, emotional intelligence, and academic abilities.

2 - Teacher Challenges

According to a recent article by Education Week, America's teachers are facing significant challenges in their profession (Baker & Solis, 2024). Nearly half of teachers (49%) experienced declining morale over the past year, while only 21% would recommend teaching as a career to their children. Teachers also desire more instructional autonomy than principals believe they should have, and 48% find their professional development irrelevant. The study reveals that teachers work an average of 57 hours per week, more than school leaders estimate. These findings point to potential challenges for the future of education, such as more teacher burnout and turnover. This could worsen the teacher shortage and affect education quality. In my experience, behavioral challenges and widening classroom performance gaps have made teaching increasingly difficult.

3 - Winter Blues

Kari Leibowitz's book "How to Winter" challenges the negative mindset many have towards winter, proposing that our expectations greatly influence our experience of the season. She suggests that by intentionally preparing for winter, embracing rest, finding winter-specific opportunities, using positive language, and getting outside, we can transform our winter experience into a more enjoyable time. Leibowitz argues that these practices enhance our winter months and build resilience for facing other life challenges. Leibowitz proposes that small, simple changes in mindset and behavior can significantly shift how we perceive and enjoy the colder, darker months. To make the most of winter, Leibowitz recommends several tips: Prepare for the season by setting positive expectations and getting your home ready with cozy items. Embrace the natural slowdown of winter by allowing yourself more rest and engaging in restorative activities. Seek winter-specific activities and pleasures, such as candlelit dinners or creative indoor pursuits. Use positive language when discussing winter to reshape your mindset and influence others. Finally, try to spend time outdoors, even in cold weather, by dressing appropriately and focusing on the mood-boosting benefits. Following these suggestions can teach you to appreciate and look forward to the winter season. Here’s a link to her book (*ad) if you want to check it out.

4 - Don't Escape the Present

“Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." — John Green (Looking for Alaska)