Strange Times

The Friday Five

TGIF Teacher Newsletter #156

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First, a big shout-out to Annie, Erin, and Merry for pointing out the lie in last week’s newsletter. We all know that teachers are dealing with more interruptions today than at any other time in history.

One of my goals for Why Edify is to create a community that shares ideas and support. The best way to connect is simply by replying to this email. Please take a moment to say hello and tell me a little bit about yourself. I read and respond to all emails. I was also excited this past week when I received my first article recommendation.

Reflection Questions:

• How might the potential changes to the Department of Education affect your specific teaching context, and what concrete steps can you take now to prepare for these changes?
• How can you continue supporting diverse learners and maintaining inclusive classroom practices while working within potential new constraints or guidelines?
• Reflecting on the six fundamental human yearnings discussed, which one resonates most strongly with your current professional journey, and how might addressing it authentically improve your teaching practice?

The Friday Five

1 - Department of Education

Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education raises significant concerns for America's educational system. This move can have far-reaching consequences, particularly affecting special education services, funding for economically disadvantaged students, and educational resources. Without federal oversight and funding, schools could face increased class sizes, reduced teacher qualifications, and diminished support for students with disabilities.

The impact would be especially severe in rural areas and among vulnerable student populations, potentially reversing decades of educational equity and access progress. This fundamental change to the educational system could significantly alter how schools operate and students receive educational services across the country. Here’s what other teachers have to say.

Strategies for Teachers to Prepare and Adapt

Given the potential changes, here are several proactive steps we can take to prepare for and mitigate possible impacts:

• Build Community Partnerships: Develop relationships with local organizations, businesses, and foundations that could provide additional resources or funding for educational programs.
• Document Current Practices: Maintain detailed records of successful teaching methods, particularly for special education students, to ensure continuity of effective practices even if federal guidance changes.
• Develop Resource Networks: Create teacher support networks to share resources, materials, and best practices across schools and districts.
• Create Alternative Support Systems: Design classroom-level intervention strategies and support systems that can function with reduced external resources.
• Strengthen Parent Communication: Establish strong communication channels with parents and guardians to ensure collaborative support for students, especially those with special needs.

Things to Consider:

• Technology Integration: Identify low-cost or free educational technology tools to help maintain quality instruction if budget cuts affect current resources.
• Flexible Learning Plans: Develop adaptable curriculum plans that accommodate various resource levels and class sizes.
• Local Advocacy: Engage with local school boards and state education officials to advocate for maintaining essential programs and services at the state level. Make sure school leaders and your community know all the amazing things happening in your school.

2 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Even though DEI is under attack, we can maintain effective and inclusive teaching practices through proven strategies. These include incorporating active learning methods like games and interactive activities, using memory aids and diverse learning materials to accommodate different learning styles, and creating flexible learning environments that work for all students.

Building strong relationships with families and implementing universal design principles helps create a supportive educational environment where every student can succeed.

Teachers can continue delivering high-quality instruction that reaches diverse learners by focusing on these fundamental teaching practices that support all students' learning needs. We can still teach in ways that give our students what they need.

Try This:

• Design Interactive Learning Stations: Create different activity zones in your classroom that incorporate games and hands-on materials, allowing students to engage with content through multiple modalities.
• Implement Flexible Seating and Learning Spaces: Arrange your classroom to provide various working environments - quiet spaces, collaborative areas, and standing options - to accommodate different learning preferences and needs.
• Develop Family Communication Systems: Create regular channels for two-way communication with families through various methods (digital and non-digital) to build strong partnerships that support student success.

3 - Human Yearnings

Six fundamental human yearnings shape our behavior and life choices in profound ways.

These innate desires drive our actions unconsciously:

• Belonging - our need to connect and feel part of a community
• Orientation - our desire to understand where we are and where we're going
• Emotional Experience - our drive to feel and process different emotions
• Coherence - our need for things to make sense and fit together
• Meaning - our search for purpose and significance in what we do
• Competence - our desire to develop skills and feel capable.

We often try to fulfill these basic needs in unhealthy ways - like pretending to be someone we're not, trying to control everything, pushing away our feelings, being too rigid, seeking constant praise, or obsessing over success. Instead, we feel most satisfied when we address these needs honestly and naturally.

Things to Try:

• Practice authentic self-expression: Start small by sharing one genuine thought or feeling each day with someone you trust, rather than saying what you think they want to hear.
• Establish a daily mindfulness routine: Set aside 5-10 minutes each day to observe your present-moment experience without judgment—notice your breath, physical sensations, and immediate surroundings.
• Create an "emotion diary": Instead of avoiding difficult feelings, spend a few minutes each evening writing down your emotional experiences of the day, acknowledging both comfortable and uncomfortable emotions.
• Focus on learning over achievement: When taking on a new skill or project, document your progress by keeping a "learning journal" that celebrates minor improvements rather than just end results.

4 - Learning Keeps You Young

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” - Henry Ford

5 - Teacher Commuter Playlist - It Must Be Love by Madness

Choose Your Own Adventure

• 30 Exciting Spring Activities to Energize Your Classroom
• The Cleveland Browns are trying to help solve the problem of student absenteeism.
• Brush up on your slang by using this resource from We Are Teachers. Sharing these produced some major eye rolls from my students.

Why Edify Recommendations

• Reflective Pages: Stress Management Through Journaling for Educators (ebook)
• Thirty-Day, Challenges for the Mind, Body, Spirit, and School

Word Play

This week’s word is “Bamboozle”. To bamboozle someone is to deceive, trick, or confuse them.

Challenge: Use this week’s word in a sentence connected to education, teachers, and/or teaching. Reply to this email with your sentence.

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