STRONG Teacher Year Fall Pack: One Small Practice a Week (Free)

By October, the teachers I worry about aren’t the ones struggling. It’s the good ones — great at the job, quietly running on empty, still the first car in the lot.

I’ve taught for 28 years. I’ve been that teacher. More than once.

So I wrote something small. One practice a week, starting the week before students show up and running all the way to Thanksgiving (17 weeks, if you’re counting).

I know. Another thing. But each week takes about a minute to read on Monday morning, before the building gets loud. There’s one idea, a couple of small steps to try that week, and a question to answer on Friday — a sticky note counts.

Some of the weeks: Rest Stops Every 15 Miles. What Are You Saying Yes To? The Three-Second Pause. Letting the Leaves Fall. And my favorite for November: When 80% Is More Than Enough.

The research behind it is real — the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a UCSF study on awe walks, a few others — but you won’t find jargon. Just the parts that hold up in a room full of 8th graders.

It won’t fix what’s broken in the system. Nothing you do on a Tuesday afternoon will. What it gives you is one thing each week that’s actually yours to control, and after enough ordinary Tuesdays strung together, that starts to add up to something you can feel (that’s Kaizen, and it works).

Already halfway through the semester? Good. Don’t go back to August. Find this week and start there.

The Fall Pack is free when you join the Why Edify newsletter. You’ll also get one email from me on Wednesdays — honest, practical, and short enough to read before first hour.

Once you sign up you can come right back to this page and the Fall Pack will be available below.

Welcome!