Laurie Wurm: Faith as Comfort During COVID-19.
Teacher Breathe
Laurie Wurm is the rector of Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, an oasis of diversity. The homeless people pray next to millionaires; people from all over the world congregate to feel community. An atheist who played in their church band, I was moved by Laurie's sermons. I reached out to Laurie to help make sense of our disruption. She has a gift for shining light in dark places.
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Scott Rovner: In Praise of Golf and Music During COVID-19
Teacher Breathe
Scott Rovner is a professional musician turned banker. His health conditions make exposure to COVID-19 a death sentence. What results is a high stakes discussion of distress at our national response and Scott's concrete strategies for dealing with the new normal. In short, golf, music, and family has kept him afloat.
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Tony Coretto's Answer: Rock the Outdoors and Meditate.
Teacher Breathe
Tony Coretto is a spark plug with a conscience, an autodidact with a sense of humor, and friend with a gift to inspire others when they are down. I reached out to Tony to ask him how he got through 2020. His answer put wind in my sails: get outside in nature and get inside your mind by meditating.
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Bill Brown: Real BoatCrew2
Teacher Breathe
Bill Brown discusses his journey from tormented youth to Navy SEAL, to family man as comrades-in-arms and husband and father. His story reveals the redemptive quality of deep grit as an equalizing force when given opportunity. Bill Brown's teamwork with David Goggins on BoatCrew2 during Hell Week clarifies, when we grind we shine.
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Drowning Teacher? Jen's answer, Lover of Life and Teaching
Teacher Breathe
Need a lifeline? Jen Giffen is your answer. Skilled, smart, and spry, she was a lead ed-tech consultant to one of Canada's largest school districts--York Region in Ontario--serving over 140,000 students with approximately 12,000 teachers. Adorned with Google, Apple, and Microsoft certifications and honored for her innovations in the classroom, Jen is the real deal: a lover of ed-tech to humanize our profession, classroom, and life.
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A Chinese Chemist (Now Public School Teacher): A Unique Perspective
Teacher Breathe
Chin Chu is River Dell High School’s 2012-3 Teacher of the Year. A chemistry teacher who was educated in China’s elite preparatory schools near the top of his class and Ph.d. in chemistry at University of Minnesota, Chin has unique insights into the problems facing America’s schools. A friend and colleague, we’ve spoken for hours about the challenges facing America’s schools. Simply said, we teach too much content--not so well--at the expense of communication skills.
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Teaching amidst Corona, False News, and Community
Teacher Breathe
Dylan Huisken is Montana's 2019 Teacher of the Year. We brainstormed the challenges of teaching amidst Corona, combatting false news in the classroom, and growing with the help of colleagues and administrators. I was smitten by Dylan's quick mind, readiness to brainstorm, and genuine humility. His award is a tribute to him, his family, and school. Montana chose wisely.
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Truth versus B.S. Whac-A-Mole
Teacher Breathe
Vanessa Otero founded Ad Fontes Media in February of 2018 to help people navigate today's complex media news landscape. She and her team created the popular The Media Bias Chart to help librarians and teachers identify reliable new and publishers. She is a highly sought after speaker and champion of reliable journalism for public enlightenment. Our conversation was a kind of therapy through my nightmare: B.S. Whac-A-Mole.
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Teacher as Advocate
Teacher Breathe
Kelly D. Holstine has developed a system of compassion to reach some of Minnesota's most at risk students by creating a safe space for them to grow. For this work, Kelly has received Minnesota's Teacher of the Year Award for 2018-19. Since July 2019, Kelly has served as Director of Educational Equity at OutFront Minnesota to support and create school environments that help humans to feel safe, respected, and valued.
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Teacher as Fire Starter
Teacher Breathe
Charlene sparks fire: smart, insightful, fearless, and driven. She is also my friend of twenty years. A math teacher at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, NJ for over 24 years, she was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2016. Her goal for her students: give them a safe-place to fly. For herself, never stop learning and helping children. You want her in the foxhole with you.
info_outlineNeed a lifeline? Jen Giffen is your answer. Skilled, smart, and spry, she was a lead ed-tech consultant to one of Canada's largest school districts--York Region in Ontario--serving over 140,000 students with approximately 12,000 teachers. Adorned with Google, Apple, and Microsoft certifications and honored for her innovations in the classroom, Jen is the real deal: a lover of ed-tech to humanize our profession, classroom, and life.
For more information: http://virtualgiff.blogspot.com/