T.G.I.F. Newsletter - Due Dates, Wordle, and the Metaverse
A newsletter for teachers and lifelong learners. Topics for this week include Late Work, Wordle, The Metaverse, and more.
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Due Dates, Wordle, and the Metaverse
Hello Friends and T.G.I.F. 😁 Here are some things I thought were worth sharing this week.
It's Thursday night and I just returned from the annual retirement dinner. In attendance were retirees, soon to be retired teachers, school staff, and spouses. The two guests of honor had 50 years of service combined. I didn't do the math, but if you added up all of the years of service for the entire venue the number would be staggering. It's a beautiful thing when people dedicate so much time to the service of their community. I have great respect for the teachers and school staff that show up year after year and simply do what needs to be done.
The News
Here are some articles/clips that grabbed my attention.
- Over the past five years, it seems that students have increasingly struggled to meet due dates. It's challenging to manage the late work. I appreciate this article by Bill Ferriter as he shares his viewpoint regarding late work and missing assignments.
- Now that my students have been promoted I'm able to take a little pause and reflect. I think this was the most challenging year of my teaching career. Last year I wouldn't have said that. Teachers as a whole are struggling and administrators are trying to find small ways to ease the burden.
- Explore how teachers use Wordle, and other games, for next-level engagement. Did you know about Nerdle? What's your best "first word" to use?
- Bias exists. Education has a role to play in how it can/should be explored.
- What is the Metaverse and how might it impact education? Here are a few resources and things I learned.
- Canva is a great tool to use for digital design. I can see many classroom uses.
- Which type of teacher are you in the summer?
Growth
Personal Development and Wellness Resources
- Do you have trouble putting your phone down? Do your children/students? It's not entirely your fault. There are forces beyond you at play that set things up to make it nearly impossible to put those glowing/buzzing devices down.
- Improve your cognitive ability by training your sense of direction, playing games, solving puzzles, and exercising.
- Should you get moving or take a nap?
Inspiration
Here is a quote I’ve been revisiting this week:
“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lines in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours”. - Seneca
Favorite Things
- 🎶 Music - As soon as the new season of Stranger Things came out, it consumed our family movie nights. The song “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush is intertwined throughout the episodes. It was the first time I was introduced to the song even though it was released in 1985. I love that feeling when music perfectly matches a moment. Now my kids and I are forever connected to this moment in time, Stranger Things, and a song that was released when I was 11. Here's a clip (spoiler alert).
- 🙏 Gratitude - Earlier this year I started recording my #TeacherWins as a way to build in gratitude for my work week. As I get ready for summer break I’ve enjoyed being able to look back at some of my entries. Even when things were challenging there was much to be grateful for. This will be a practice I continue next school year. During the summer I’ll keep the streak alive by looking for #Wins.
- ⌚ Apple Watch* - This is my go-to fitness tracker and reminder machine. They recently introduced some new Apple Watch faces. I'm partial to the "Metropolitan".
- 🥾 Hiking/Walking - I’m not an epic distance hiker/walker, but the older get the more I simply like to go outside and put one foot in front of the other. I enjoyed this video - Why I Hike.
Have a great weekend 👍!
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