GUYS! After the success of my first Top 10 list, I've decided to create a series called, "Mr. Stephen's #Top10"! Check out my #Top10 Tips for balancing work and play during the summer break! ALSO, I will be a GUEST BLOGGER for one of the MOST INFLUENTIAL FAMILIES IN THE WORLD OF "DISABILITY"! Stay tuned for more exciting info! Here are the tips for mobile users!
Summer seems like a huge chunk of time for teachers right around the end of the school year ...but in reality, it flies by WAY FASTER than we expect it to! DON’T WORRY! You can totally have fun while still preparing for Fall! Here’s my #TOP10 tips for Summer Planning! Let’s Get it Poppin’! 1. PLAN YOUR SUMMER IN THE SPRING! I always say that it’s important for anyone to plan ahead, but this is ESPECIALLY true if you’re a teacher! Life is kind of crazy during the school year and we are constantly having to make plans not just for today, but for tomorrow and next week and next month and next year! SUMMER BREAK IS NO DIFFERENT! If you want to come back to your classroom in the Fall with a stress-free feeling in your heart, you need to set yo’self up REAL GOOD, MOMMA! It is your break, but don’t let it be your BREAK (literally)! 2. GIVE YOURSELF SOME LIGHT-WEIGHT GOALS. What I’m NOT saying? I’m NOT saying you should waste away working all summer long! Have a seat, decide what your highest planning priorities are for the summer break, and write them down. Pretty easy, right? And THIS is actually the hard part (other than actually sitting down to do the work!) 3. CREATE A CHECKLIST Guys! Imagine a world without checklists! I mean...I literally can’t even! If you’re not a check-lister, my advice is to become one! I honestly feel like I could do anything as long as I have a checklist! Breaking your big goals down into smaller tasks will help you to (1) organize your thoughts and (2) create a visual that will guide you through each process! Plus, you’ll save yourself so much time by having a solid game plan vs. wondering what to do first! 4. SCHEDULE YOUR WORK TIME It’s important to actually schedule times throughout summer break to sit down and work. It might be every other Tuesday from 12-4, or Monday mornings after you’ve cured your Sunday hangover, or 9-5 for 4 days straight as soon as you’re back from Cancun and then bi-weekly after that. If you can look at your calendar and know when work time is and, more importantly, when it’s OVER --you’ll feel better about sitting down to cross tasks off of your checklist! It’s your summer! Make a schedule that works for you! 5. TACKLE THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS FIRST! While it’s great to be ambitious, the reality is that you may or may not get to every last item on your to-do list. Do your best to strategically place items in order from most important to least important. This will ensure that IF you don’t accomplish the last few items before summer is over, you won’t stress out as much. I mean, they weren’t top priority anyway! 6. IF IT ISN’T BROKEN, LEAVE IT ALONE. As teachers (especially if you’re a GOOD teacher), we are always thinking about how to improve this, or ways to enhance that! Summer is definitely the time to focus on making improvements to your practice, but you’re not a robot! You need time for you to just be YOU! Focus on making improvements that are more “necessary”. If you have a system that already works for you, leave it alone for the summer. It’ll be waiting for you when you get back and you can tweak as you go from that point on. 7. DON’T WORK OUTSIDE OF YOUR SCHEDULED WORK TIME! I know how easy it is to feel like you’re on a roll and forget that there’s life outside of the parameters of your work desk, but don’t get it twisted! Your summer is ticking on by and it’s important for you to take advantage of the day light, the night light, the afternoon light, and everything in between! Do your best to stick to your scheduled hours so that you don’t miss out on what summer is all about! 8. TRY NOT TO CHECK WORK RELATED MESSAGES -- Even during your scheduled work time! This could totally mess up your flow and get you flying off on some side project that would lead to ZERO checks on your to do list today! NOT what you want! The school district pays you to work for THEM during the school year. During summer, you work for YOU! Don’t let anyone get you caught up in anything that doesn’t directly benefit your practice! 9. DO NOT OVERDO IT If you push yourself beyond your own limits by making a ridiculously ambitious checklist and then taking your laptop with you to Cancun just to stay on track with the work you’ve created for yourself...you’re going to sink. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but when the Fall Semester rolls around and you have bags under your eyes and a bad attitude, you’ll regret not taking the “me” time that you SO deserved! 10. HAVE FUN!!! Listen: who am I to tell you how to have fun?! If you like wine, drink up! If you like the park, fly a kite! If you’re single, download Tinder! Do whatever it is that makes you happy because THIS is the time! We give so much of ourselves to the world for 9 months straight every year, so YES! You should spend a little time setting yourself up for another successful 9 months. But that should not come at the cost of a crazy fun summer filled with memories that will keep you motivated and sane through the next long haul!
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After the major success of "The Direction: Lowell HS Advocates" and a high demand for expansion, I have decided to take the organization to a new level!
The mission is to create a space for people with intellectual and neurological differences to advocate for VISIBILITY, ACCEPTANCE and, beyond all else, RESPECT! The expansion will begin with a summer program beginning in July. I have already secured some strong partnerships within the San Francisco area and will be setting up some awesome opportunities for participants to be seen and heard in important ways. For now, I will accept individuals with intellectual and neurological differences, or "disabilities", from ages 13 - 32. More information will be available in the coming weeks regarding specific dates and activities. If you'd like to be involved, please contact me via e-mail at [email protected] |
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May 2020
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