Educating With Passion and Purpose - Keep the Fire Going Without Burning Out

Stay engaged with your purpose to better serve your students--and yourself
 
In an era of sky-high burnout, Educating with Passion and Purpose gives veteran educators everything they need to thrive in their profession. This book will help you avoid the disenchantment and frustration that can come from doing the difficult work of K-12 education. You are in this field because you want to make a difference, but you often lack the support you need to do that amid overwhelming demands. Experienced educators themselves, authors Meredith Matson and Rebekah Shoaf speak the truth about what today's teachers confront--and how you can navigate the changing landscape to face the challenges and opportunities we encounter.
 
Inside, you'll find frequent opportunities for self-reflection on the topics that matter most to educators, including race, privilege, wellbeing, mentorship, and how to rise to the social-emotional demands that teaching asks. At a time when many teachers are leaving the field within the first years of their careers, Educating with Passion and Purpose offers you a way forward, so you can nurture your students and professional self.
* Gain perspective on why you teach and what matters most to you in your career
* Explore how race and identity impact interactions in your classroom
* Learn practical strategies for protecting your social and emotional energy and seeking help
* Find a new sense of inspiration in your teaching practice with hands-on activities and tools
 
This book is perfect for educators with three or more years of experience. It also offers crucial insights for pre-service educators, staff developers, and experienced teachers looking for ways to avoid career burnout and other pitfalls traditional teacher-training programs did not prepare them.

List of contents

Introduction
 
Why We Wrote This Book
 
Who This Book Is For
 
How to Use This Book
 
Why Reflection Matters
 
Chapter 1: Finding Your Purpose
 
Meredith's Turn
 
My Why, My Drive
 
Pain and Loss
 
Becoming Invisible
 
My Drive for Leadership
 
Rebekah's Turn
 
Schooling vs. Learning
 
Finding My "Why"
 
Your Turn
 
Research to Help Excavate Your Purpose
 
Excavating Your Why
 
Refining Your Why
 
Amplifying Your Why
 
Connecting Your Why to Your Work
 
Exploring Your Ikigai
 
Meditating to Discover Your Why
 
Personality Tests and Purpose
 
The Roots of Your Purpose
 
Troubleshooting Your Purpose
 
Additional Considerations for Leaders
 
Helping Your Community Articulate Their Why
 
Finding Your Purpose as a Leader
 
Supporting Teachers in Understanding Purpose
 
Your School or District's Purpose
 
Asserting an Equity Stance
 
Chapter 2: Purpose and Burnout
 
Meredith's Turn
 
When Your Work Becomes a Job Rather than a Profession
 
What Feels Like Burnout But Isn't?
 
Searching for an Identity
 
What Do You Do When All You Do Is Complain?
 
Rebekah's Turn
 
Shift Happens
 
Losing My Prep Periods and My Purpose
 
Your Turn
 
Identifying Your Why Nots
 
Burnout Self-Assessment I
 
Burnout Self-Assessment II
 
Using the Burnout Spectrum
 
Identifying Possible Contributors to Burnout
 
Visualizing Your Own Fire
 
How Burnout Impacts BIPOC Educators
 
How Burnout Impacts Antiracist Educators
 
Additional Considerations for Leaders
 
Is Distributive Leadership Leading to Burnout?
 
What About Leader Burnout?
 
Chapter 3: What You Teach
 
Meredith's Turn
 
Bringing My Why Out on Day One
 
Developing Daily Lessons Infused with My Why
 
When Your Curriculum Leads You To Be Misaligned
 
Coaching Teachers Using Their Why
 
Rebekah's Turn
 
Designing for My Why
 
The Hazards of "High Expectations"
 
Designing for Transformation
 
Your Turn
 
Assessing Your Curriculum
 
Analyzing the Lessons that Resonate
 
What If You Hate Your Curriculum?
 
Standardized Tests Aren't Everything...But They Are Something
 
What If You're Still Learning Your Curriculum?
 
Additional Considerations for Leaders
 
Professional Development
 
Curriculum Design and Support
 
Chapter 4: How You Teach
 
Meredith's Turn
 
Gaining Respect and Building Authentic Relationship
 
Systems and Structures that Empower
 
Take Control of Planning
 
Rebekah's Turn
 
Keeping My Students' Reading Fires Going
 
Reframing Resistance
 
Your Turn
 
Assess Your Instruction
 
What If You Have to Use Mandated Instructional Methods?
 
Listening to Your Students
 
How's Your Sleep?
 
Connecting Instruction and Classroom Management
 
What If You're Still Learning How To Teach?
 
Additional Considerations for Leaders
 
Clear Structures and Expectations Help Everyone
 
Feedback Is Essential
 
Chapter 5: Being the Lead Learner
 
Meredith's Turn
 
Pushing Myself as a Learner
 
Professional Development Within the School Setting
 
My First Lesson as a Principal
 
Rebekah's Turn

About the author

Meredith Matson is Principal at the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction in New York. In her twenty-one years as an educator, she has also been a teacher, assistant principal, mentor to new teachers, history department chair, and grade-team leader. Rebekah Shoaf has been an educator for twenty years and is the CEO of the educational consulting firm What If Schools. She is also founder and owner of Boogie Down Books, a bookstore-without-walls^® for kids, teens, families, and educators.

Summary

Stay engaged with your purpose to better serve your students--and yourself

In an era of sky-high burnout, Educating with Passion and Purpose gives veteran educators everything they need to thrive in their profession. This book will help you avoid the disenchantment and frustration that can come from doing the difficult work of K-12 education. You are in this field because you want to make a difference, but you often lack the support you need to do that amid overwhelming demands. Experienced educators themselves, authors Meredith Matson and Rebekah Shoaf speak the truth about what today's teachers confront--and how you can navigate the changing landscape to face the challenges and opportunities we encounter.

Inside, you'll find frequent opportunities for self-reflection on the topics that matter most to educators, including race, privilege, wellbeing, mentorship, and how to rise to the social-emotional demands that teaching asks. At a time when many teachers are leaving the field within the first years of their careers, Educating with Passion and Purpose offers you a way forward, so you can nurture your students and professional self.
* Gain perspective on why you teach and what matters most to you in your career
* Explore how race and identity impact interactions in your classroom
* Learn practical strategies for protecting your social and emotional energy and seeking help
* Find a new sense of inspiration in your teaching practice with hands-on activities and tools

This book is perfect for educators with three or more years of experience. It also offers crucial insights for pre-service educators, staff developers, and experienced teachers looking for ways to avoid career burnout and other pitfalls traditional teacher-training programs did not prepare them.

Report

Praise for Educating with Passion and Purpose
 
"Educating with Passion and Purpose is a useful new companion to resources on teacher wellness. The authors' personal stories are relatable and will provide insight for readers into their own desires to contribute meaningfully to education."
--Elena Aguilar, author of Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators
 
"Whether outdated curriculum, lack of professional development, or boundary-setting challenges, the path to burnout can be all too clear. Within this book, there are practical tools, engaging anecdotes, and research-backed strategies to reflect and rejuvenate--and fall in love with teaching again."
--Maia Heyck-Merlin, author The Together Teacher and The Together Leader
 
"For nearly fifteen years I've learned alongside Meredith and Rebekah, and I continue to learn from them through the pages of this book. They interweave their personal journeys with practical tips for educators in a way that truly gets to the heart of the matter: it's all about purpose. Teacher educators, teachers, and school leaders alike will identify, reflect, and improve their practice by engaging with the personal stories and reflective prompts in this book."
--Kristen Hawley Turner, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Teacher Education, Drew University
 
"This book is truly an inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to read it. The insightful advice, relatable experiences shared, and the encouragement and resources offered to overcome obstacles, make it applicable and useful for all educators--at any level in their careers. Through tears, smiles, and head nods in agreement, there is no doubt that this book will help unlock your 'why' and motivate you to grow as an educator."
--Shelby Sprung, Special education teacher, P94m
 
"Teachers, leaders, and anyone who works in education will benefit from Educating with Passion and Purpose: Keep the Fire Going without Burning Out. The stories, wisdom, and reflective activities will support educators to sustain and evolve throughout their career."
--Alexis Goldberg, Managing Director of School Support, The Urban Assembly
 
"Reading Meredith and Rebekah's stories reminded me not only of what I loved about learning in the classroom everyday with students, but also that this daily work is something I believe to be sacrosanct and the leader's duty to support and protect. When you are a district leader, it's easy to get caught up in the daily political and operational work that doesn't feel quite so sacred; reading their powerful narratives has inspired me to reconnect to my 'why' and to try and ground my daily work more explicitly with it in mind. This book could not have come at a better time."
--Carolyn Yaffe, Executive Director of Valley Charter Schools, California
 
"With the engaging voices of experienced teachers and leaders, the authors provide an insightful and pragmatic guide for educators who are questioning their purpose or facing burnout."
--Marshall A. George, Olshan Professor of Clinical Practice at Hunter College of the City University of New York
 
"Rebekah and Meredith provide a candid look at preventing and healing from teacher burnout and do so through personal story-telling that will draw you in in a deeply captivating way and will provide current and future educators with specific and equitable strategies to combat a very real problem in our field. Educators at all levels should pick up this book and learn from the infinite wisdom!"
--Carlos Beato, Ed.D., Co-Director of Next Generation Learning Challenges
 
"In the midst of a national teacher shortage, Matson and Shoaf provide a critical contribution to the discussion about how we retain, sustain, and reinvigorate educators -- by reconnecting with their purpose! Educators from the district office to the classroom should take note of these practical ideas for transforming experience and avoiding burnout."
--Jeffrey Garrett, Founder of JM Garrett Learning Group and Sr. Vice President of Leadership Development, The Partnership for Los Angeles, Schools
 
"In Educating with Passion and Purpose, Matson and Shoaf combine their extensive experience to create an invaluable resource for teachers and the leaders who support them. This book combines the power of personal narrative with practical reflection exercises and resources to help teachers build careers, curriculums, and communities grounded in purpose and filled with passion."
--Ivelisse Ramos Brannon, Former High School English Teacher, Curricular Consultant, and Ph.D. Student at Harvard University
 
"A thoughtful, heartfelt, and comprehensive guide--I'll be giving to every teacher I know."
--Jessica Murnane, Author of One Part Plant and Know Your Endo
 
"With compelling personal narratives and a plethora of practical suggestions, these veteran teacher-leaders provide educators at all levels practical and valuable examples of how to maintain energy and commitment in the classroom. Given the post-Covid education landscape, this book is required reading for everyone working in schools."
--Bil Johnson, Retired Public School Teacher Educator and author of The Student-Centered Classroom Handbook and Right Time, Right Places
 
"As former teacher, school founder and district administrator, I can honestly say that I've not read a book that more clearly, succinctly and powerfully provides a framework for both the struggle and possibility that exists in education. This should be required reading for everyone in the field, as it realistically regrounds the work in purpose and passion, while acknowledging the challenges."
--David Weinberg, Former New York City School Founder
 
"The question of how to develop and retain educators represents one of the most pressing challenges facing education today. Weaving their personal stories into generalizable insights about the nature of teaching and learning, Matson and Shoaf create opportunities for each reader to reflect on their passions, while reconnecting us to our common sense of purpose as educators and reigniting our belief in the power of education for all students. Educating for Passion and Purpose is a must read for every educator who seeks to rekindle the flame fueling our professional capacities as stewards of tomorrow's leaders."
--David Adams, Chief Executive Officer, The Urban Assembly

Product details

• Authors: Matson, M Matson, Meredith Matson, Meredith Shoaf Matson, Rebekah Shoaf, Rebekah Matson Shoaf
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.05.2023
• EAN: 9781119893615
• ISBN: 978-1-119-89361-5
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Guides > Self-help, everyday life > Family; Humanities, art, music > Education > School education, didactics, methodology; Education, Bildungswesen, Teaching skills and techniques, K-12 / Lehrerbildung, K-12, Teacher Education (K-12)