What Do You Need Today?

Everyone these days seems to be talking about Bandersnatch, the Netflix movie that allows viewers to choose their own storyline by making onscreen choices while watching: Which type of cereal do you want for breakfast? Which cassette tape should you put in your Walkman? Do you destroy your computer or bang on the desk? Whether the hero ends up victorious or at the morgue depends on your choices. It’s exciting. We like to be in the driver’s seat, to have options, to make choices that suit our mood or meet our needs.   

As we usher in a new year (and try to remember to write 2019 instead of 2018), allowing for options seems especially important right now. If I decide what you need to read about today, I’m likely missing the mark or ignoring something that would make your life—right here, right now—a little better.

So for this week’s Craig Talks Teaching, I invite you to think about what you need and choose your own Craig Talks Teaching. I’ve provided a selection of links to some of my articles from the archives for you to follow based on what you need today:

If you need to restart the semester with a resolution to be more playful, this might provide some motivation.

If you’ve resolved to talk less in class and let your students talk more, reading these scenarios might help you envision what that could look (or sound)  like.

  

If you want to be that teacher who nudges kids in directions that change their lives, this might inspire you.

If you just need to feel thanked and appreciated for doing a frequently thankless job, click here.

  

If you’re trying to figure how the focus on Social-Emotional Learning intersects with all the stuff you have to teach, this might help.

If someone needs to remind you that teaching shouldn’t be a “us vs. them” experience, read this.

If you’re getting worried about state testing, this might talk you off the ledge.

If you just want some practical tips on how to give better instructions to your students, this will help.

  

If you’re trying to give up bad habits in the new year, here’s one that needs to be eliminated.

If you want to work on meeting the needs of the variety of learners in your classroom, read about differentiation here.

If you’ve let things get a little too lax in your classroom and need to tighten the reins a bit, here are a few suggestions to help you.

If you’ve been trying to help your students become better note-takers, but it hasn’t worked yet, this quiz might help them think about how to improve.

If you’re looking to improve professionally and want some help, read this (and then reach out to an instructional coach).

And if you just need to stop and reflect on how things are going midway through the school year, this might be a helpful guide.

This choose-your-own-professional-reading experience might not be as entertaining as watching Bandersnatch, but I hope it gave you a little bit of what you need right now. Next time, I’ll be back to making all the decisions on your behalf.