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How to Make Non-TFA Friends
(Photo credit: Beppie K) Surrounded by corps members and feeling a little … limited? Been there. I love my friends that I’ve met through TFA but let’s be real — ONLY having TFA friends gets real old,...
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Back to Boston: One Corps Member’s Return to the Classroom
Boston Skyline (Photo credit: brentdanley) Saturday I went to a bar mitzvah reception for one of my kids. I spoke politely to parents for 15 minutes, then spent two full hours talking to my kids from...
View ArticleBut Everyone Said Second Year Would Be Easier
(Contributed by Sally Lineback, Mississippi Delta ’07) Almost a month into my second year of teaching, I thought I had teaching figured out. During the summer after my challenging first year, I had...
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From Reluctant Writer, to Poet Warrior
Crownpoint, NM (Photo: Emily Southerton) As I left the Navajo Reservation in Crownpoint, New Mexico and headed north toward Denver, Colorado, my 4th stop on the Poet Warriors Project, I was reflecting...
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How Do Your Students See You?
One of the first things I realized when I started teaching was just how many different things teachers have to do every day just to make sure students are where they are supposed to be. Throw in...
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Taking A Chance to Ease Tension With A Student
(Photo credit: Wikipedia) Relationships are the key to teaching. No matter how spot-on your set of incentives and consequences might be, if you can’t connect with your students – particularly those who...
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It Takes A Village: Creating Community At Institute
(Photo credit: Eric Spiegel) As stressful as Institute can be, there is no point in going through it alone; in fact, I feel that the relationships I made were the light in my day that got me through...
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Expert Advice on Love in the Corps
(Photo credit: Alexandre Delbos) In 1993, my wife and I were only the second married couple to join TFA. We met in college, applied to the corps, both got accepted to teach in New Orleans—it was a lot...
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Shameless Optimism: 4 Ways to Get to Know Your Students
In her TED Talk, Every Kid Needs a Champion, educator Rita Pierson said, “You know, kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” When I first watched this video, everything seemed to make more...
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21 Ways to Cultivate Relationships with Your Students’ Parents
As a new teacher, establishing and maintaining connections with families can be difficult and time-consuming. However, many times a strong connection with a family is the very best way to ensure...
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The Most Transformative Words I’ve Said in Class This Year
Last month, during testing season, stress levels are at an all-time high—for my 8th graders and their teacher. So when a student stopped doing his homework, I stopped letting him into my classroom. He...
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5 People to Get to Know in Your School Building
In my first year teaching, I was often still at school when our custodian, Mr. Dan, came into my room to sweep. We would chat, and I soon learned his children’s names and all about the new camper he...
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5 Ways to Pay it Forward to the First-Year Teacher
Back-to-school time fills everyone with a sense of optimal possibility and academic urgency. Teachers and students alike are refreshed and ready to set new goals for learning and relationship...
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Why You Should Study Your Students
Hairdressers, lawyers, major corporations, and CIA agents all do it. They study their clients with the same methodical intensity required of a college organic chemistry or fine arts class. Teachers...
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“Get to Know You” Survey to Build Strong Teacher-Student Relationships
During my time as a Teach For America corps member in Charlotte (‘13), I learned firsthand the importance of positive teacher-student relationships. Strong relationships can boost student engagement,...
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7 Ways to Leverage Parent Support in Your Classroom
The days become shorter and shorter, while the to-do lists grow longer and longer. These are the signs that fall is here. But did you know there is a group of people who can help with behavior...
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How Relationships Heal and Positively Impact Your Health and Wellbeing
As a therapist-in-training, I often hear the following: “It is the relationship that heals.” While a body of research seems to back up this claim, explanations for why a relationship is healing or how...
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4 Ways to Bond With Your Co-Workers
Whether you’re teaching at a new school, or just surrounded by new employees, it is critical to establish positive workplace relationships in order to start building a team dynamic that allows your...
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Why I Decided to Come Out to My Students
Every fall for the past three years I’ve taught a small seminar course, Issues and Debates in Life Development, a course that could otherwise be titled, the Best of Psychology and Sociology 101, to...
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