Why The Moxie Teacher?
Welcome to The Moxie Teacher!
I am so excited that you are here! No, really… super excited! This resource has been a passion project of mine that I have had on my heart for a long time. Over the past decade of teaching a course called Youth Issues in a large public high school, I have had the honor of hearing so many students’ stories of joys, heartbreak and challenges. Many of our students are facing some really tough situations, don’t have the emotional support at home and only have peers or social media to turn to for answers. For many, their teachers are the most consistent role model in their lives.
The need for social-emotional learning in the classroom has become more important than ever before. Our youth need skills such as emotional regulation, resilience and healthy communication. These skills have sadly been lacking since the pandemic and are crucial for their overall mental health and (be honest) success in life.
I know what you are thinking. All this social-emotional learning talk sounds great but WHEN are teachers supposed to plan for this and squeeze it in to your already pack schedules?
As a teacher who is with you on the front lines … I get it!
There has to be a better way!
For the past few years, I watched my students decrease in their social skill and ability to cope with the stressor of all the influences around them. I had honest conversations students during my time teaching youth issues courses and one thing is clear… they need more emotional-intelligence tools! But how?
I watched my large public school actively try many different approaches to help solve this issue.
We tried to excite the students with a flashy pepfect assembly and bring in a motivational speaker… but that energy diffuses away when they go onto their next class. Those lesson that speaker just spoke on gets forgotten.
We tried having student leadership groups come in on advisory periods to lead social-emotional activities… but students didn’t take the student leaders seriously and when we had advisory time was sporadic.
We tried to create a culture of moral character by creating character pillars that our school stands for…. It was a great start, but sadly when I surveyed my students only a handful each class knew what they actually stood for.
We tried buying the extensive curriculum and long in-person staff trainings on in-service days… but honestly, it was hard to get teacher buy in because it put so much more on our plates. More sitting, more reading, more planning and more burnout.
I watched my school’s leadership tirelessly try so hard over and over to create a character education program that ended up resulting in minimum teacher buy-in or further application in the classroom. Why is this?
I’ve thought long and hard about how to solve this issue. How can I support students in learning these important social-emotional skills, all while not adding more to our teachers’ plates as a result.
How can character education be a win-win approach for all?
After many conversations with my fellow teachers and my students, this is what I believe we need.
We need to have our character pillars and expectations woven into the fabric of our classroom cultures, so these themes become a mindset, not just a lesson.
We need social-emotional learning and activities to be a habit daily in our classrooms, not a one-and-done approach. We learn with daily practice, right?
We need to empower teachers with trainings and resources that are flexible, easily available, applicable and that can be done on our own time.
We need curriculum ideas that we can adapt to fit the needs of our classrooms and respects our teacher’s busy schedules. No extensive planning or giving up precious content time. We as teachers need curriculum options that are ready made and flexible.
During our time together, I will be doing all the work for you! Think of me as your favorite co-teacher that does all the social-emotion lesson planning for you! You get to print, press play and go!
Here at The Moxie Teacher, we’ve created some pretty awesome resources options for you; from quick videos to open your class, to full lesson plans and activities.
Here are a few ways you can start using our resources to apply social-emotional learning in your classrooms:
Visit The Moxie Teacher on Youtube for our short animated videos covering emotional intelligence topics!
Try out one of our hands-on community building activities!
Facilitate a lesson plan from our resource library!
*All resources are created by a teacher, for teachers. My promise to you is that I will be here to support you the best I can. No teacher or resource is perfect, but we strive everyday to constantly have a growth mindset to improve, adapt and grow. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to sarah@themoxieteacher.com
