Name that Woman Trailblazer: The first American woman and the third woman ever to go to space, flying on the Challenger in 1983. She was also the first known LGBTQ+ astronaut. After leaving NASA, she served as director of the California Space Science Institute; she also strove to help women and girls who wanted to study STEM subjects, working with science programs and authoring children’s books.
Here is a handy checklist to plan and accomplish a successful 2023 with retention in mind! If you check these boxes off the list, it’s a good sign you’re taking care of your people, which will also reduce turnover, boost productivity, and lead to stronger business outcomes as a result.
Inside, you’ll find:
Q: How did you get into your current role/industry?
A: After my undergraduate degree, I started a job as a teaching assistant where I worked in a classroom supporting instruction. What particularly stuck out to me was how my school was teaching mathematics — using Cognitively Guided Instruction.
This form of mathematics instruction is through building student strategies in problem solving and understanding, which leads to student mastery of mathematical concepts through exploration (rather than a textbook).
Once I finished my degree/masters and became a classroom teacher, I continued to explore the love of teaching mathematics in my first grade classroom. Everyday is a new challenge to work through, and alongside students.
Teaching through the pandemic was interesting (being a teacher through a Zoom screen), but I think both families and educators learned a lot about the other side.
Q: What’s something you do to help boost your productivity?
A: Something that helps boost my productivity is maintaining interest in perusing professional development that challenges me. When I attend meetings and conferences or engage in adult conversations around pedagogy or techniques, it re-inspires me to challenge myself in the classroom. Keeping busy as a learner helps me with my teaching practice.
Q: How do you find work-life balance?
A: Teaching involves planning and hours outside of the expected work day.
I like to get to school early in the morning and leave with time in the evening to exercise and see family and friends. A challenge with teaching is that the job is very personal — we communicate with families after the school day is over, and “turning off” completely can be hard.
I try to find balance by setting limits on working time, and doing something I enjoy each day after school.
Q: What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve received so far?
A: The best piece of professional advice I have received was from my first principal.
He said that “no one can make you feel a certain way — it is up to you and how you want to respond. You are there to help students learn and hopefully come around to laughing about the situation.”
Q: What’s your favorite software or app that helps with your workflow?
A: I live on Google Drive!
Google Slides help me plan and organize my day, Google Sheets help me organize data, and Google Forms are a great way to communicate with parents and colleagues.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time outside of work?
A: I love to hike and run! Being outside and playing Taylor Swift music in my headphones helps me relax after a long day.
🗓️ Check out these 20 Google Drive Tips for Productivity.
⚖️ For teachers, here are some tips on how to achieve work-life balance.
We’ve compared monday.com to the Swiss army knife of project management softwares — and they’ve taken it up a notch by launching industry specific templates.
Here are some of our fave templates that you can use today (for free):
For HR & Recruiting:
For EAs/Admins/Operations:
Last year, educators and students were constantly adjusting with the “post COVID” world in schools.
We dealt with many different regulations and changing systems, which made consistency hard.
During one part of the year, I was teaching 6 students in person, and the other 17 online (8 of which were English Learning students).
I learned that we can’t plan for perfection, and being flexible and thinking on your feet is crucial.
Sunsama is our top choice when it comes to digital planners. Try it free today.
Bambee is the first outsourced HR compliance solution for small businesses.
The Impact Job is a free weekly newsletter that mixes social impact news and jobs in a fun way.
Weve offers over 100 games you can play with your team to build stronger workplace culture.
🏃♀️ Inspire more movement in 2023 — here are some office fitness challenge ideas for the new year.
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