Random Acts of Kindness Week is a time when people are challenged to be kind to another for no reason other than to be thoughtful. The hope is that a person on the receiving end of an act of kindness will turn around and be the giver of an act of kindness. This perpetual chain of kindness is celebrated by individuals, groups, businesses, and schools.
Random Acts of Kindness Day originated in New Zealand. In the United States, Random Acts of Kindness Week is observed February 12th through 18th and National Random Act of Kindness Day is February 17th. When posting about kinds acts on Social Media, use #RandomActsOfKindnessDay or #RAK.
Health Benefits of Being Kind
People who are kind:
Kindness.org offers a variety of “kindness initiatives” to join, carry out, and share with others. This is great way for students, and adults, to become involved in the movement.
“We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to
contribute to that.” – Ellen DeGeneres
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that
one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
As a teacher, you know throughout the day the hunger cravings can pop up and sometimes the most convenient option is to pop into the teacher’s lounge for a vending machine snack. We have the tips to help educators keep energy and eat healthy throughout the day.
Drink plenty of water. According to the CDC, staying hydrated can improve cognitive function. Keep a reusable water bottle around to refill throughout the day. Add a lemon or lime wedge for extra flavor!
Skip the carbs. These may give you a short burst of energy, but are not a good food source for prolonged energy.
Eat breakfast. Eating a nutrient-rich breakfast will keep your energy level steady until lunch. No time to eat breakfast at home? Try these Grab-and-Go Breakfast Ideas from WeAreTeachers.com
Avoid coffee. Coffee can cause dehydration. It can also trigger blood sugar issues, leading to that afternoon decline in energy. Try drinking less coffee or trying herbal tea instead.
Be aware of serving size. Sometimes we consume far more than one serving size. Check nutrition information before eating.
Control portions. Pack your food the night before using the serving size as your guide; use measuring tools if needed. This way, you are limited to only the amount of food you brought with you. You can accurately keep track of how much you have eaten.
Eat snacks. Protein-heavy snacks are a good source of lasting energy. Try nuts, cheese, or beef jerky to satisfy your snack cravings. Check out this list of Healthy Snack Ideas from FannetasticFood.com
Prepare your food the night before. Take the time the night before to pack your lunch and snacks so you don’t make poor, last-minute food decisions during the morning rush to get out of the house. 50 Healthy Lunch Ideas from ReallyGoodStuff.com asked teachers to share their favorite healthy lunches.
Eat that birthday treat! Elementary teachers know this battle all too well. Treats seem to appear on your desk out of nowhere! They’re hard to resist, but sometimes we just need to indulge ourselves after a long day. Try not to make it a regular habit, but you don’t have to avoid treats every time. You can also take home the treats you don’t eat or can’t finish (sometimes I share them with my family if I’m feeling generous).
Be an active participant in student Brain Breaks. A recommendation by the CDC says “physical activity breaks in the classroom to help keep students focused and well-behaved.” That means teachers, too. My favorite FREE brain breaks are from GoNoodle.com. Don’t do brain breaks in the classroom? Take a quick walk around the building during plan time.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are an opportunity for teachers and families to connect. During conferences, teachers engage with the parents of our 21st Century Learners. However, the “traditional” conference is becoming outdated. Isn’t it time we give parent-teacher conferences a 21st Century makeover?
Group Conference Harvard Family Research Project highlights this successful method:
Teachers and parents meet as a group three times per year. Each parent receives a folder with his or her child’s data and learns how to interpret individual benchmark assessment data and quarterly assessments, understand the child’s standing in relation to the entire class, and set academic goals to be attained by their child. Parents also participate in one individual parent–teacher meeting to review performance data.
Student Showcase
Reed Gillespie, a principal, explains the advantages of a Student Showcase on his blog Mr. Gillespie’s Office:
– An annual event where families, community members and others are invited
– An experience that highlights student work, creativity, discovery, ingenuity, research, innovation, 21st– century skills, and more
– A forum that engages students, families and community
– A means of communicating all the wonderful work our students/children and teachers do
– Opportunities for students to present their work, interact with the public and gain valuable experiences that extend beyond the classroom
– A way for students to connect with members of the community, potentially leading to jobs or other opportunities
Grade-Level Dialogues
This unique approach is outlined on TeachingForChange.org:
Grade level dialogues are structured conversations between parents and teachers regarding students’ academic success. In this format, teachers across a grade level host a communal meeting to exchange information with parents and find ways to support each other. Teachers share what the children are learning, how they are learning the content, and what strategies parents can use at home to encourage their child’s academic success.
Student-Led Conference This was shared by Alain Jehlen at NEA.org:
Ask students to write a letter inviting their parents to the conference. Students prepare folders of work, comments, etc. for each of their core classes, with documentation from band, special education, standardized testing, their grade and attendance report, etc. They are taught how to share this information with parents and how to seek teacher help during the conference if needed.
Off-Campus Conference
What about those parents who never show up? Maybe they can’t take time off work, or they don’t have transportation. Offer to meet them at a convenient location like the public library, a restaurant, or their place of employment. There’s even the good ol’ phone conference, or its more modern cousin, the video conference.
Communication with the parents of students is one of the most important, if not THE most important components of student success. However, in between grading, paperwork, planning, copying, instructing, meetings, and tackling academic and behavior difficulties of students, I find it difficult to even squeeze in a restroom break! So where on Earth am I supposed to find the time to contact parents?
Communication with parents does not have to be formal or time consuming. It can be meaningful without you spending an entire plan period composing a perfectly-worded email or having a lengthy phone conversation.
Keep it brief. In many instances, parents are inundated with communication from teachers, school, and the school district. In my experience, for general school and classroom information, parents appreciate succinct messages from teachers. Get to the point and do it quickly. KISS (keep it simple stupid).
Printable, easy-to-fill-out forms are one of my favorite ways to communicate with parents when a phone call or email isn’t necessary. When a student has a minor behavior issue, consider using a form like this Behavior Alert from Floating Down the River. My favorite part of parent communication is when I can send a positive note home about a student. This editable positive note home from Classroom Freebies is easy to fill out. A Note From My Teacher from The Brown Bag Teacher can be used to communicate student accomplishments or struggles.
If you must contact parents by email or phone, keep the conversation focused on the area in which the student has the greatest need for improvement. Discussing multiple areas of need in one conversation can overwhelm parents and the teacher. Some questions to use when deciding what to say to parents: In what area do I want the student to improve? What am I doing in class to help the student improve? What are some resources I can share with parents to help the student at home? If you have additional concerns, you can save them for another conversation. Update parents as needed with concise messages.
Preparing templates for written notes or emails can speed up the process. Throughout the months of September and January I send home detailed, positive messages to the parents of each of my students. These are composed using a template of my own creation. I spend less than 10 minutes per student composing meaningful letters to parents. If this sounds like too much work, choose students worthy of praise.
Effective and efficient parent communication can be a powerful tool in achieving student success. How do you communicate efficiently with parents?
Author: Erin Randolph has taught elementary school for ten years. She lives in Olathe, KS with her husband, four-year-old son, and two-year-old daughter.
At the end of the video below, there is information regarding our “Promise to Drive Focused” giveaway. Educators who promise to drive without distractions will be entered to win a new car! Click here to enter/learn more.
Teaching can be an enormously challenging job. As a result, it’s not uncommon for teachers to sometimes wonder if the impact they make is worth the challenges they face. We thought it would be helpful to create a space where educators could come together to discuss these challenges.
And that’s exactly what we did. Thanks to help from SoulPancake, we brought 5 teachers together to discuss the challenges they face. There were a few laughs, a few tears, and some pretty incredible surprises.
Edutopia contributor Matt Davis has collected and shares some of the best resources for parents, teachers and students to prepare for the first face-to-face meeting of the school year.
We’ve all been there; that awkward moment when parents and teachers meet for the first time to discuss the progress of their children. How can you prepare, what should you say and what’s the best course of action if there’s a problem?
From ideas for highlighting student progress, to questions every parent should ask, these are some of our favorite articles and resources that cover parent-teacher conferencing. Enjoy the rest of the school year!
New Teacher Survival Guide Video: The Parent-Teacher Conference: This Teaching Channel video offers preparation ideas, a first-hand look at conducting a conference, and some great tips and strategies from parent-relationship expert Diane Feinstein. There are plenty of interesting tidbits packed into this ten-minute video, making it a perfect resource for educators of any experience level. Teaching Channel’s blog post, Beyond Parent-Teacher Conferences: Building Connections That Last, by Lily Jones, also provides useful advice for using conferences to springboard into continued dialogues with parents.
Inviting Students to Lead Conferences
Student-led conferences empower learners to take ownership of their accomplishments and their classroom goals. Yet, for many teachers, it can be a challenge figuring out how to best facilitate them. In 2015, Edutopia examined how one school in Chicago uses student-led conferences to create opportunities for reflection, engagement, and agency.
You’ll find some wonderful resources in that collection. Here are a few more ideas, guides, and tips for letting students take the lead during parent-teacher conferences:
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