Inside Bell's Brain

Monday night was hard. I saw so many teachers excited to return to school to see their students. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t ready to see my babies again!    I’ve missed them!    It’s the fear of another year of unknown that had me (has me) burdened.  When I woke up this morning, along with many other educators locally and abroad, I joined in the tradition to post my school day prayer on social media. And I froze. I literally didn’t even know what to ask God for. Who has ever been prepared to teach in a global pandemic like we’ve had to this year? So I reflected on what would really be needful. And two big ideas came to mind: love and grace. Not just for my students and not just for my coworkers. I need love and grace for myself too!    The unprecedented circumstances of this year are going to require courage and flexibility of us. And that’s no problem because teachers always rise to the occasion. But it’s also true that we’re navigating unchartered t...

I was eating lunch with a friend recently, and of course, we were talking about the upcoming school year.  She knows how this past year was a struggle for me personally and professionally as I learned to balance my life and navigate my health and well-being.  She and I both expressed our concerns over all the decisions being made in light of the COVID situation, but neither of us really had a better answer or alternative.  There are risks and problems no matter what the powers that be decide, so we just have to have faith. I told her I was thankful for my summer and glad for all the projects I've been able to work on.  I told her that I appreciated the break and change of pace, and while I wanted to stretch summer a little longer (as teachers always do), I was ready to try again.  I was (I am) ready for a new year and to put this past year behind.  Then I blurted, "I am just ready to be successful again this year... but I don't even know what that looks lik...

I'm so excited that I FINALLY got latest product, English Learner Notebooks , posted in my store yesterday!  I've been working on it for several weeks now, but the back-to-school days had me like WOAH!  I really hope that it will be a useful tool for other ELL/ESL/ELD teachers across the U.S. whose schools/states are members of the WIDA consortium.  I decided to include a few highlights here on my blog so you can see what it's all about!  Click through the image below to check it out in my TpT store. Please note that I am not affiliated with WIDA in any way.  I do not and have not worked for them at any time.  This product is not approved nor endorsed by WIDA.  It is simply a product created to use in conjunction with your students' teacher reports to better help students understand their English development. It occurred to me a few years back that, while ESL teachers in my state are expected to meet predetermined percentages of growt...

I'm joining up with Mrs. D's Corner this week for the Building Blocks of B2S (Back to School) .  I was a little late to the party last week, but I'm jumping in on week 2 for "building relationships." Teachers have major shoes to fill, so to speak.  Chris Lehmann said, "People send us their most precious resource ; they send us their kids every day... Short of, like, a brain surgeon, I can't think of a profession where people are placing greater trust in the professionals than teaching...and it is our job to be worthy ."  What great truth there is in that statement, and we must rise to the call of being worthy. One profound indicator, in my opinion, of a person's worthiness is the way he or she treats other people .  Not just those who can do something for them, not just those from whom they will get something in the future.  What do you do when you think no one is watching?  Do you help others?  Do you belittle those who you perceiv...