Let me share a quick case study with you about a demoralized,
defeated tenured teacher that Academic Success 101 helped.
One of my favorite examples is of a teacher who was able to break her cycles of failure and heal herself and her students at the same time.
Shortly after I started teaching my CE courses in the evenings at PSU, I accepted a job as an elementary counselor where I met the first-grade teacher, Mary Ann.
The night before parent-teacher conferences, I needed to see Mary Ann about the results of an assessment I had given her children. I found her in her classroom with stacks of work in front of her. She seemed burned out, beaten down and worried, and we were just at the end of the first quarter of the school year.
I sat down and she immediately told me she didn’t know what to do. She feared that there would be some angry parents coming in the next two days for conferences. She didn’t know how she was going to explain why her children weren’t as far along in their schoolwork as the children in the other first-grade classrooms.
The facts: I reminded her that the assessment that had been given her students earlier that fall revealed that 56% of her classroom were students considered at-risk behaviorally, emotionally and academically.
What this means to a teacher, even the most successful teachers, is that initially, they may have to be three times as focused and intentional to keep this population of students in their seats, let alone teach them how to pay attention and stay present during the school day.
Breaking the cycle: I invited her to consider taking my upcoming course. Her spirit lifted.
Mary Ann immediately signed up for my PSU course, “Breaking the Cycles of Failure” which is now “Academic Success 101: Accelerate Learning in Every. Single. Student.“
She was an eager student. In this adult setting, it was inspiring to watch her work through her issues openly and try to learn and understand how to be more effective with her students, and in her life. I was privileged to watch her take risks with other adults and with me that she had never taken before.
As we moved through each week’s lesson, she reported that her students were accelerating exponentially. She came to evening classes looking reignited with color in her cheeks. She began as a quiet observer and became an active participant.
The result of all of her taking my course was that her class had markedly improved on the same assessment given again in the spring.
The standard improvement normally shown
by the best of teachers would be an increase of maybe 2 points.
Mary Ann’s class had increased its overall score, 4.7 points.
This was unheard of.
Needless to say, both she and her students broke through many cycles of failure in those seven months. Occasionally, I would hear other teachers taking notice of her accomplishments in the teacher’s lounge. With the right tools, her ability to accelerate her first grader’s love of learning reignited her light.
What’s the takeaway here? It’s that no matter how defeated and demoralized you may feel, there is always hope for a turnaround. Mary Ann’s story is proof that with determination and the right resources, you can go from feeling like a victim to feeling like a victor.
Opportunity found Mary Ann because she focused on getting control back.
She made a decision to get really good at energetically empowering her students to
self-regulate and be peaceful enough to accelerate their learning power.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
I’d love to hear from you about this. Does Mary Ann’s story resonate with you at all?
Now I know you might not think (or maybe you do) that you have the time or energy to learn how to deal with social-emotional issues so you can accelerate your student’s learning power (or maybe you do) like Mary Ann.
But do you need help reigniting your light?
Click here and let me know, I’d love to hear from you!
So what is today’s 30 Second Turnaround?
It’s this. It takes less than 30 Seconds to change your mind about the students you’re struggling to get through to and decide – like Mary Anne – to grab the information you need right now, to get things turned around in the next 9 weeks.
It’s NEVER too late to accelerate learning with every single student – especially right now – before the standardized testing begins. BUT it’s never about doubling down on what’s not working but instead take 1-hour a week to learn how to create synergistic MindSafe Community Classroom(s) so brainpower gets ignited and productively accelerates!
So, to all the adults in the room who are feeling emotionally spent, disrespected and disregarded, remember that you have the power to make a difference. Don’t give up, don’t lose hope. Take a step forward, seek out the info you need, and believe that you can rise above the challenges.
I’m a former teacher and counselor who put together what I found worked consistently into a course
that educators with too much on their plates, like me, could get immediate relief with.
To win back time and to have a life – and energy – at the end of the day!
I do it all for today’s children and for the weary, frustrated, worried adults who live with, work with and care for them; especially for the one’s getting themselves labeled “problem,” “behaviorally challenging,” “dysregulated,” “spirited” or any one of the 34 different diagnosed acronyms (ADD/ADHD/OCD/SPC etc.).
It’s never too late to turn things around and start feeling like what you do truly matters. You’ve got this!
It’s just 9-weeks until standardized testing begins. Imagine being the person whose kids knock it out of the ballpark!
Reaching out …
PS … Don’t miss this opportunity to invest in yourself and learn new strategies that can lead to reliable outcomes. Mary Ann’s story is proof that it’s never too late to make an exponential difference by accelerating learning. Take the first step towards your own transformation. Let’s embark on this journey together and go from feeling defeated to feeling empowered.
Take the first step towards overcoming burnout and creating a breakthrough in your life. Don’t miss out my FREE 1-hour Reignite Your Light training taken directly from my Academic Success 101: Accelerate Learning in Every. Single. Student. Online Course. It’s not as hard as you may think to reignite your passion and create immediate positive change in your life, classroom or at home. Embrace your potential and discover your greatness today!
Grab a cup of jo and GO HERE for your FREE 1-hour training – 4 (13-20 minute) segments – so you can feel better, stronger and more energized within the hour!
