Catching up and on time (sort of)

Podcasts
As has become my custom I listened to Truth for Teachers. This week was Episode 114: 7 ways teachers can push past imposter syndrome  that had some useful tips for anyone who sometimes gets nervous or anxious about teaching. 
Science Friday  this week was really great because one of the segments was about mathematicians. I played a part of it for my classes because they talked about how you don't need to be a child prodigy in math to appreciate its beauty. They also mentioned growth mindset, and I was happy for my students to hear that message from someone other than me. As usual, I found all of the segments interesting. I am thankful for Science Friday and I plan to contribute to their campaign because I have already learned so much from them.

Social Media
I was able to spend some time on Twitter and Facebook this week. There aren't as many posts about education as there were at the beginning of the school year. I think other teachers are just as busy as me. On the youcubed facebook page, I came across an Open Letter to Jo Boaler to stop picking on Gifted Kids. It was an interesting read and presented both sides of the argument well. The good news was that many people expressed the opinion that a classroom like the ones Jo Boaler and the youcubians strive for would serve all kinds of learners, including "gifted" ones.
Reading
This week I was able to find time to return to Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had by Tracy Johnson Yager and it was great to see some more concrete examples of how to apply Mathematical Mindsets to classrooms. From there I found a couple of videos on YouTube by a math teacher who was featured in the book. He took some puzzles designed for toddlers that had countless numbers of configurations. He didn't believe they were countless, so he decided to have his middle school math classes tackle the problem. It was a great example of how math can be found everywhere and the problems are deep and engaging. The students really embraced the challenge and had fun making the video, too.
#IMMOOC
George and Katie had Kayla Delzer as their guest speaker for the last Episode of #IMMOOC. It was so crazy because we are choosing the furniture for the new Middle School building that is in the process of being built so it was very timely to hear about voice and choice for seating. It was great to hear about trusting your own experience as a teacher and not to just rely on research. To value the expertise within yourself. They also talked about how Twitter can be helpful for teachers on the journey, but it doesn't mean teachers who aren't on Twitter are bad. Everyone is on their own journey and it is about doing what is best for students and teachers.
Feeling thankful for all the resources and ideas I have gleaned so far. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!