These days my inbox is filled with two kinds of questions.

1. Can you give me some advice for writing end-of-year reports?
2. Do you have suggestions for making summer planning easier?

Luckily, I have thoughts on both of those topics. You can find lots of information about them both on the blog. But I mention this just because it points out the dilemma that teachers face right now.

You want to do justice to the end of the school year, write end-of-year reports that are meaningful, at the same time that you need to look ahead to the new school year. There are certain aspects of planning that just can’t wait.

I’m afraid I don’t have any big brilliant words of wisdom to share to make that push-pull any easier, but just the comforting thought that you’re not alone. And that it won’t last forever.

And maybe a little bit of permission to set aside the future for now. Sure, you need to connect with the enrollment person, and think about new families joining your class, but when it’s time to write reports, give your full attention to reflecting on the previous year.

You won’t regret it and you’ll find that you get ideas and inspirations that will make the year ahead even better.

The post Looking Ahead, Looking Back: The June Dilemma appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Interested in following me on my new adventure? You can subscribe at:
waldorfatwork.substack.com

Also, in this episode, I talk about the question I hate most: “Am I Waldorf enough?” I talk through the assumptions that are embedded in this question and some of the reasons why they are completely misguided.

Because, newsflash, Waldorf is not about playing the flute, singing songs, or spending lots of time outside. It’s about doing those things out of an understanding of the impact that they have on students. And you can be a great Waldorf teacher, even if you don’t know how to draw a horse.

Read more of my ideas about this in this post on Waldorf at Work.

The post Waldorf at Work, A New Episode appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

This is an episode all about the idea of “wonder” and how it is important in the classroom. Below are the notes that guided my own little monologue in the episode.

Wish

Wish is pretty clear. When I taught 7th grade, the students and I talked about the difference between a wish, a hope and a dream. And we talked about how these words take on a different meaning when your wish, hope or dream is for someone else, or when it’s for the world.

Surprise

Surprise is also fairly clear. It’s that feeling when you’re confronted with something so unexpected that it takes you off-guard. It’s easy to confuse surprise and wonder in this way, but surprise is much more unsettling. Surprise can cause someone to feel a little fearful.

Defining Wonder

And then there’s wonder. Wonder is a feeling that is much more difficult to define. I know, as a teacher, that wonder is a feeling that I want to inspire in my students. I have this sense that wonder is essential to the learning process, but I have a hard time describing what it is. 

So, in preparation for this episode, I did a little research. I found an article on neuroscience that attempts to describe the role that wonder plays in learning. Here are some of the things the article said:

• Wonder is an inner desire to learn that awaits reality in order to be awakened.
• The scope of wonder is greater than that of curiosity.
• Wonder is the center of all motivation and action in the child.
• Wonder is what makes life genuinely personal.
• Beauty is what triggers wonder.

Another article defined wonder by describing the play, exploration, imagination and discovery that often happens for students outside the classroom as they play outside or pretend with friends. And the article sadly mentioned that most of this is left outside the door when students enter a typical classroom. That sense of wonder and awe is not inspired when they take a test or fill in the blanks on a worksheet.

I also found a school website that tried to summarize and define wonder as it described the school’s curriculum. They tried to define wonder by describing phenomena like …

• caterpillars turning into butterflies
• bean seeds sprouting
• the phases of the moon
• the sun rising and setting
• the movement of the clouds

Contemplating these phenomena was probably the closest I got to actually understanding and settling on a definition of wonder in my research.

Experiences of Wonder

The thing is, wonder is really hard to define, but you know it when you experience it. So I decided to think about moments in my own life when I remember feeling what I would describe as wonder.

My examples of experiences of wonder

My poor efforts at defining wonder

• an inbreath, like your breath is taken away a little bit
• viewing something you’ve seen before completely differently
• an opening

And this last bit is why wonder is so important to learning. When students enter a state of wonder, an opening is created. A possibility arises for them to view the world differently and to come to a different understanding. 

Wonder in the Classroom

So, if wonder is so important to learning, how can we create it in the classroom? Here are some suggestions. 

1. Experiences of nature.
2. More observation, less explanation.
3. Pay attention to the small details.
4. Look for connections between things, especially things students already know and things they’re learning. (Example: the elements)

The post The Importance of Wonder appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Register for my summer productivity course.

My history as a middle school teacher

How our work will change

What we’re doing to set a solid framework

Building Habits

• homework
• Finishing their work
• Engaging with our lessons
• General classroom behavior

Building a Culture of Caring

• we’re good people and we’re working together
• we’re on the same team
• building up an image of each individual as a caring individual
• building an image of the class as a whole being caring
• building a reputation for them to live up to

How Middle School Will Change Things

• less focus on me as the teacher/authority; much more social with each other
• focus on the content
• looking out at the world together
• contrast the morning verses

Links

My substack newsletter

Teaching Children to Care

Facebook group

Buy me a cup of coffee

Send me an email.

The post Heading Into Waldorf Middle School appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Join me as I make my way through The Growth Mindset Coach — a month-by-month guide for teachers. Each month I’ll record an episode about it and I’d love to hear what you think!

In this episode . . . 

• Audible (affiliate link)
• my curriculum guides
• The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Grit by Angela Duckworth

TARGET from Carol Ames

• Task
• Authority
• Recognition
• Grouping
• Evaluation
• Time

The post Growth Mindset Series, February appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Join me as I make my way through The Growth Mindset Coach — a month-by-month guide for teachers. Each month I’ll record an episode about it and I’d love to hear what you think!

In this episode . . . 

• Skillshare (my affiliate link)
• my curriculum guides
• The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

Teacher feedback stems

• I noticed how
• Look at how much progress you’ve made on
• I see a difference in this work compared with
• I admire how hard you have worked on
• I can see you really enjoyed learning
• Could it make a difference if you
• have you considered trying a different strategy to
• You’re on the right track here and might consider
• One awesome thing about your work is
• I really like the way you
• One thing that helps me is
• This could improve if
• My favorite part of this was
• I noticed that

The post Growth Mindset Series, January appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.