Hey there! Thanks for being here. Whether you’re an educator, someone looking to grow, or just an all around cool person- I’m glad you’ve come to the site today.
While my focus is primarily education (third grade teacher y’all!) I like to think that there’s a little something for everyone around here: tips to better your life and your self, a contact more than willing to lend an ear, etc.. And hey, maybe you just want a look into what it’s like to be a teacher. I get it! Ever since distance learning put us in the spotlight, teachers are a bit mystical and a bit superhero (but we knew that already.)
No matter what brought you here today, I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for. If not, send me a message! I’d love to hear from you.
Read the latest from Life (Wirth) Living:
Get My Free New Year Templates!
Looking to start your year off on the right foot? These free templates will help you complete three practices I’ve been utilizing to set myself up for success.
21 Things for 2021 – Create a list of 21 things you want to do, stick with, remember, highlight, or focus on in 2021.
One Word Vision for 2021 – Select one word that encompasses how you want to feel, act, appear, and live during 2021.
Personal Manifesto for 2021 – Create a list of 5 statements you want to believe in, embody, and live by in 2021.
Picture this: you’ve graduated college, you’ve got your certification, you’ve interviewed all summer and finally, you’ve got the call that you landed the job. Excited? Nervous? Oh yeah, it’s also the day before school starts.
My first year of teaching was a whirl-wind. Like I said above, I was hired the day before school started. I walked into a classroom that had been half storage/half art room and thought what the heck do I do now?
No curriculum? No problem! Make it up yourself! It’ll probably be better and more student centered anyway (as long as you know your students!) Since that first year, I’ve learned that when life throws you something out of your comfort zone, you have to run with it. If it’s a sink or swim situation, a teacher will win the gold for backstroke.
Then of course March brought Covid-19. I remember leaving a staff meeting and texting Ryan: “Can you stop and pick up toilet paper? I think we’re almost out and all the teachers here are freaking out.” That Friday we were asked to take our April break in March. A week later, we were officially distance learning. “Plan for ten days,” they said. Right…
For three and a half months I experienced the challenges and heartbreak of remote teaching in a low income, high need community (that, however, is a soap box discussion for another time.) Then, again, everything changed.
It was incredibly hard to leave my first ever teaching position (in the chaos of a pandemic, no less) but life will do that to you sometimes. The landscape may change, but a teacher is a teacher, no matter where they land during their career.
“I’ve learned that when life throws you something out of your comfort zone, you have to run with it.”
During my first year of teaching, we lost a week due to a town wide natural gas outage. Then in February, we were told twelve teachers would lose their jobs for the following year. I attended school board meetings, spoke at city council hearings. Due to retirements, we all kept our jobs in the end but the school was being restructured and there was going to be a lot of adjusting on the fly.
Cue the summer before my second year of teaching: our school gets cyber hacked. We start the year with no rosters, no schedules, and no technology. Let’s just say, we taught for a month in the Stone Age. Difficult? You bet. Did we rise to the challenge? Absolutely.
For my third year of teaching, I moved from an urban district to a very rural small town. My students, who used to be fifth grade and the bottom of the middle school totem pole, became third grade- the kings and queens of our elementary school. I remember joking with my mom, “I’ve woken up in munchkin land!”
In the profession of teaching, no day is ever the same. No year is ever the same. Teachers are masters of flexibility, creativity, and thinking on our feet. These are skills we practice and build all the time. It’s why I find so much excitement and fulfillment in what I do. I am a superhero. I get to change the world, every day.
Resources for Teachers
Are you a new teacher asking, “where do I even start?” or a tenured teacher asking, “how do I keep my momentum going?” I’ve got a slew of resources for teachers at any stage in their career. Looking to build a strong, connected classroom community? No problem. Want to find ease in classroom management and get creative with your content? Piece of cake. The products I’ve created are tried and true and there are some really fun freebies thrown in along the way. Check things out and let me know what you think. From my classroom to yours, I’m here to help.
