So You Want to be a Speaker

Getting your message out to the world How exciting! I just got a request for tips from another teacher who wants to get a speaking career off the ground. This is something I’ve been wanting to write for a while, so the inspiration hit at a good time. I remembered that I had posted an article…

Educators at Risk

Characteristics of educators at risk: * Feels personally responsible for a student’s successes and failures Measures personal success or failure by student behavior and achievement, or by approval from others Has an overwhelming need to avoid conflict and generate approval from others (which can manifest as attention-seeking, maintaining status quo, or even rebelliousness) Willing to…

Book: The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide

Win-Win Strategies for Success by Dr. Jane Bluestein At the start or your career or at the end of your rope… Get your teaching career off to a winning start—or recharge your passion for your work! The new & revised edition of Dr. Jane Bluestein’s pivotal guide for your teaching career! A great gift for new…

What I Learned When I Started Teaching

And why I write books for beginning educators This excerpt was pulled from the introduction of the final draft of The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide, a book I wrote to help prepare beginning teachers enter—and STAY—in the field. The piece has been revised somewhat to refer to resources available on this website. In retrospect, I was one…

Making a Mistake in Front of Your Class

A defining moment in every teacher’s life How do you handle mistakes you make in front of your class? Some important lessons these two authors learned in observing teachers. In Anchorage, Alaska, a first-year teacher made a spelling error on the board during the first week of school. As often happens in these kinds of…

Respect, Reflection, and Resources

Tips to Improve Teacher Efficacy Guest blogger, Dr. Jared Scherz, offers some ideas for teachers to enhance their professional growth and their experience as a professional educator. Respect Teachers need to be treated like professionals, offered meaningful feedback but allowed and encouraged to provide input of their own. If adjustments are needed, they are informed…

Leading Learning with Glenn Capelli

The art, science, and craft of teaching Episode Summary: Did you ever have a teacher who changed your life? Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with author, speaker, and songwriter Glenn Capelli about how teachers can have a powerful impact on a child’s life—for good or bad. They discuss the importance of new and different experiences, including encounters…

What’s a Purchase Order?

Confessions of an Accidental C.E.O. The following article begins with an adaptation of a chapter for Tricia Gallagher’s 1991 book, For All the Write Reasons: Forty Successful Authors, Publishers, Agents, and Writers Tell You How to Get Your Book Published. I have followed this excerpt with updates on what’s been happening in the years since…