Taking Care of You...

There’s something about Lavender! June 8, 2020.

It is lush, lovely, and its fragrance is at once tantalizingly luxurious and gently soothing. It is lavender – a perennial plant, indigenous to northern Africa and the Mediterranean.  It is classified as an herb because it is edible, has a strong, defining scent, and is often used in aromatherapy.

     In a sun-drenched garden with well-drained soil, lavender is a stunner. It has many varieties, but one that is most familiar is English lavender, which resembles a bushy shrub with silvery-green foliage and purple spikes of flowers that ride astride tall, thin stems. When pushed by a breeze, the scent seems to float everywhere, but even in still air, the smell of lavender will caress you as you walk by.    

Lavender’s charms are further released when used. So, inhale its calming fragrance as your candle glows. Apply it as a balm to your skin. Enjoy it in floral arrangements throughout your home, and savor its addition to salads and desserts.  You’ll find that its delightful fragrance and multiple uses will relax you, bring you a sense of peace and well-being, and leave you feeling refreshed and renewed. 

The truth is that quiet, uninterrupted time alone, in a temporary respite from responsibilities, doing something you enjoy or nothing at all may accomplish the same results.  From personal experience, I can tell you that lavender takes it up a notch and makes you feel special and pampered.

     It is the reason that lavender has been prized and appreciated for centuries, dating back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  Lavender is even mentioned in the Bible.  It’s popularity seems to be everlasting.

    There’s just something about lavender.  Simply put, it is simply wonderful.  

 In case you have not heard, teacher masks are definitely in.  May 7, 2021.

Post spring break, as a majority of schools across the country re-open, a return to daily in-person learning is beginning to be the norm once again.  To optimize a healthy and safe environment, many schools have physical distancing and mask mandates in place.

Not to worry.  With the right mask, all teachers - women and men alike - can add style, substance, and humor, as well as protection, to classroom wardrobes.  Check out the sites below and find a mask that speaks to your personality.    

At WE ARE TEACHERS, you will find styles from personalized masks (for you or your school) to those with sayings and graphics symbolizing teachers. There are also masks in a rainbow of colors without graphics.  Prices generally range from approximately $5.00 to $12.00.  Some multi-packs.  Be sure that the style you like meets medical standards. https://www.weareteachers.com/10-face-masks-for-teachers-we-love/

REDBUBBLE offers you a variety of masks by subject, teacher symbols, teacher advice, humor, and wide-ranging, interesting, and fun graphics.  Prices generally range from approximately $8.00 to $11.00.  Once again, be sure that the style you like meets medical standards. https://www.redbubble.com/shop/teachers+masks

  So, from one educator to another, have a little fun when you mask up, and inspire your students to do the same.

Book Power! May 27, 2021.

I am an inveterate reader.  I love novels about women whose fictional lives and dreams are as fraught with problems and goals as mine, but who are often braver and wiser than I.  Along the way, there may be tears, smiles, and laughs.  But in their lives, things generally work out for the best, or at least leave them more self-aware, strengthened, and love worthy.  The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow is just such a book https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/janice-hadlow/the-other-bennet-sister/ Hadlow’s debut novel follows the journey of Mary, the somewhat dowdy, often ignored or mocked middle sister of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Just watch and enjoy what this Mary can do.  I am a sucker for a happy ending. 

Also, high on my fiction list are detective novels, especially those in a series, featuring one main character and a memorable supporting cast.  There are no earthier, crustier, smarter, and more cynical detectives with just enough heart to be thoroughly engaging and redeeming than Michael Connelly ‘s Harry Bosch and Ian Rankin’s John Rebus. In all of their emotion-bending, twist and turn cases, Bosch and Rebus always figure things out so that good most often triumphs in some way.  Like I said…happy endings.

Poetry is not for everyone, but I love it.  Poems tell a story in a few lines and make a point with clarity and exquisite precision.  It is then up to the reader to dwell on the underlying meanings of every carefully chosen word and crafted image.  Try a diverse sampling of Shel Silverstein, Lucille Clifton, Billy Collins, Dahlia Ravikovitch, and Jimmy Santiago Baca to experience the range of subjects and emotions they explore.

Finally, I enjoy going through the looking glass of history and politics to find stories of people, places, and their times.  If you like scary stories that keep you up at night, Carol Leonnig’s Zero Fail is the real deal.  Leonnig reports on a Secret Service Agency that is rife with bias, laxity, and too few personnel to properly support its mandate ( https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carol-leonnig/zero-fail/ )

I could go on, but you don’t have to take my suggestions.  Choose a book, any book - fiction or fact - that engages you and transports you beyond yourself to new ideas, new possibilities, and exciting, fulfilling action.

A Little Inspiration. September 19, 2021.

Sometimes, the best way to take care of yourself is to do something nice for other people.  Teachers know all about this because they are always doing or buying something for “their kids.”  Another truth that teachers know too well is that students lose things: notebooks, highlighters, pens, and pencils.  And when school supplies run short, teachers often dip into their own wallets to replace them.

Pencils are #1 on the list.  It seems that no matter how many pencils you hand out on Monday, the same students (and more) will be asking for another on Tuesday.  Where do all the pencils go?  Nobody knows.  It is a complete mystery.

To solve this very serious and annoying problem (I jest, or do I?), and to encourage students to be responsible, teachers often resort to pencil bribing.  What is pencil bribing, you ask?  Pencil bribing is offering students pencils you hope they will want to keep – pencils in funky colors, pencils with cool designs or symbols, designer pencils, the ultimate pencil.  How is that working for you?

As a teacher, I am a perennial optimist, so here is one more attempt to rectify the mystery of the disappearing pencils.  Maybe students will want to keep a little inspiration in their backpacks: Each Inspiration Pencil® is inscribed with a thought that is not corny, but real and true, honest.  Maybe you would like a little inspiration, too.

The Inspiration Pencil®

We could all use a pep talk, a small reminder that people do understand and care, a promise that everything is possible if you dream it and work toward it, words that express the belief that you are important because you are.  Maybe these pencils will not be a bribe, but a personal statement that stays with your students and you long after the pencil is worn to a nub. To order Inspiration Pencils for your class, just click on the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScObyNP1TqolApsvYDKl3-TchJLO2RnKNPvbRJz-Gs_GH6tbQ/viewfor

Note: Inspiration Pencils are guaranteed to write if your students will help them!

Options and Opportunities. May 11, 2022.

Overworked, underpaid, and disrespected. Teachers are exhausted, burnt out – physically and emotionally.  Last year through the fall, teacher dropout was euphemistically called a “shortage.” (See Newsletter #3 at https://www.merleschell.com/unpackinge-education-archives/.  Today, it is an undeniable mass exodus with too few would-be teachers waiting to take the place of those fleeing the classroom.  Teachers have had enough.

As an educator, I have been there. I know exactly how you feel, and how painful it is to walk away from a profession and the students you love.  I am not writing to persuade you to stay.  This is about options - your options to reclaim control and explore opportunities that will bring you both personal recognition and career satisfaction.      

What a concept!                                                                                                                                   

In February of this year, the Wall Street Journal published an article reporting that “talent-hungry companies” are actively recruiting former teachers to jobs that offer upward mobility, better pay, and respect. (See https://www.wsj.com/articles/teachers-are-quitting-and-companies-are-hot-to-hire-them-11643634181 ).  Here are a few of the talents HR people see in you:  leadership, listening, learning, planning, organizing, creative problem-solving, multi-tasking, communication (verbal and/or written), coordination, collaboration, technology expertise, relationship building, sensitivity to others, research skills, flexibility, high energy, dedication, and resilience.

You should be impressed!  You have ‘mad’ skills that you probably have taken for granted.  That ends now.  It is time for a little self-love, self-respect, and self-reflection to help you decide on the next job of your dreams.  It might be in education, and it might not. 

Take some time to think and look.  Check out some articles, such as https://www.educationdegree.com/  resources/alternative-jobs-for-teachers/, that discuss options for former teachers (or guidance counselors, or school social workers). Then be honest with yourself.  Which job possibilities are most appealing and why?  What makes you happy: Working one-on-one or with a team; developing a program (or curriculum) or presenting and selling it; creating an idea or implementing it through technology?

You have many more paths from which to choose than the road less traveled. It’s all good.  Your prospects are exciting.  Your future is out there.  Go and get it.    

Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 7, Question of the Day:

The answers are a), b), c), d), and e). Just google. You will find that every statement is true. We have a lot to do to fix our educational system so that our teachers can teach and inspire, and children can thrive and succeed. Before we can know the right answers, we have to ask the right questions. Keep checking this website and our newsletter Unpacking Education for information.

My Garden Diary. June 28, 2022.

Gardens are wonderful! Flowers and shrubs please all the senses, respond to tender care and remind us that, amid the fray, there is innocence and beauty in the world.  Some like to nestle in the shadow of a tree with dappled light streaming on them through the branches. Others prefer to bask in the open air, faces lifted toward the sun.

Some are morning plants that display their colors until early afternoon, then close up to rest until the next day. Some prefer to make their appearance in the coming dusk of evening, while still others happily dazzle us from morning until night.  Stylistically, gardens are anything you want them to be.  Some are pristine, formal, manicured, sure to please the senses throughout the blooming season.  Others are casual, a little overrun, messy even, with lovely unpredictable blooms popping up from Spring through Fall. 

     My garden tends toward cottage casual for several reasons.  I start with a design, but welcome the unexpected.  I plant only perennials, which have a mind of their own, so I have to accept that they often reseed themselves in unlikely places, adding whimsy to the space.  Often surprise flowers, and ferns will migrate to my garden from somewhere.  They have a knack of defining the niches where they settle as if I had planted them on purpose.  That is why I think of my garden as Nature’s design.   

     Finally, where I live, it is hard to stay ahead of the weeds.  I remind myself that all flowers were once weeds.  Still, for crowd control, I dig up those that have no apparent redeeming value.  But some weeds have lovely flowers that are ubiquitous in my garden throughout Spring.  When the flowers are spent, I pull them up, knowing they will visit again next year.                                                       

     As I write, I am at my desk, watching the late afternoon sun play over my garden while a light breeze tempts the plants to flit this way and that.  The view is always different. Throughout the season, some of the flowers fade as others bud and open.  Shrubs that flowered early on still present an abstract, pretty, green-leafed shape.      

In addition to being beautiful, plants provide nectar to birds, bees, and butterflies. They, in turn, contribute to pollination.  It is a life-affirming relationship.  Gardens remind us that every day brings new possibilities and perspectives.  It is reassuring to know this.     

Note:  If you garden and would like to share some of your favorite plants, please upload photos to merle@merleschell.com.  If you do not have outdoor space, adding a few plants to your home will bring you pleasure year round.

P.S. When I crave a more introspective respite, I write a poem or a song, and will happily share one another day.

Oh, To Be A Child Again. October 27, 2022

I love children’s books.  The best ones have memorable characters.  Think Amelia Bedelia, Peter Rabbit, Ramona Geraldine Quimby, Elephant Gerald, Leo the late bloomer, Alice in wonderland, The Little Engine that Could, insert your favorites here, and on, and on.  Some are funny or mischievous.  Others are loving and kind.  All of them become endearing friends, in our hearts forever. Friends whom we one day introduce to our own children because we want to share that warm, fuzzy feeling with the little ones we love most.

In every children’s tale, there is always a lesson to be learned, presented gently as the story unfolds, teaching us how to be - without our even knowing it.  As adults we realize that these lessons are not always easy to learn and are sometimes even harder to remember and observe.  Oh, to be a child again, we might think, when life was simple, and every story had a happy ending.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a child again, to lean into our hopes and wishes as possibilities that a grown-up will make come true.  Except that now, we are the grown-ups and understand that we cannot make good on every wish or hope for our children, or for ourselves.  We understand that wishes and hopes are dreams until purpose, persistence (with the help of a loving warm fuzzy or two) turn them into reality.  Pinocchio comes to mind. 

Still there is something to be said for keeping alive the child-like qualities of openness, honesty, curiosity, and desire for friendship. They are the very qualities needed to accomplish adult goals of diplomacy, negotiation, collaboration, and trust.  These traits are also required to restore or rebuild balance, peace, and an ease from stress in what is sometimes a cynical, turbulent world.

When we are overwhelmed; when we need a little comfort or reassurance, it helps to speak our hearts  and minds to someone we trust. That is a warm fuzzy.  Or, we can dip into a children’s book and reach into a whole bag of warm fuzzies.  To enjoy the story, the lesson, with warm fuzzies to you all, click on the link: https://reenchantements.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/warm-fuzzy-tale.pdf No more cold pricklies for you.

Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 12, Question of the Day:

A psychotherapist who practiced Transactional Analysis and is the founder of emotional literacy; namely that love is the power and catalyst to happiness and fulfillment, the answer is b) Claude Steiner. He wrote many books, but only one children’s book, A Warm Fuzzy Tale (1969) for which he coined the phrase “warm fuzzy” which is everything that any of us needs.    

For a premium price, you can buy a copy of The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale on Amazon. 

Music as Muse. February 23, 2023

How often have you seen students with heads bent over a book studying, ear buds firmly in place, piping music?  If your generation grew up before the human body became a rack for any number of wires and digital appendages, you might recall the ubiquitous boom box – for street creds only.  Or later, cassette decks and CD players (complete with headphones) that gladly recorded mixes of our own favorite artists and songs.  In today’s digital era, streaming services and apps make it easy to assemble personal playlists revealing not only our musical preferences, but who we are at that moment in time.  

Whatever your generation, did musical accompaniment really help you to understand and apply Newton’s Law, the rules of grammar, the Pythagorean Theorem, or to write an inspired paper?  Did the music distract you from studying, create a foil for daydreaming?  Or did it remove anxiety and beat comfortably in the background, providing a rhythm for focus?  Was the music you chose a declaration of who you were, what you believed, whom you loved?  Was it all these things then?  Is it now?

For me, the answers are ‘Yes.’  Music is a safe and comforting place where I can relax and, with abandon, think and feel without judgment or expectations from myself or anyone else.  I can gather myself to myself, be present, and move forward.  

Music marks the chapters of our lives, saved in time, so we can go back and remember whenever we push play.

 Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 16, Question of the Day:

The correct answer is g) all of the above. Whatever type of music puts you in the groove, helps you focus and find your writing place, that is your music muse. That is the muse that will help the words flow and bring you the satisfaction of sharing your ideas and feelings. The beautiful thing is that your music muse can change to match your feelings at any given time. Music is a cushion that will always ease your way.

Plant A Kiss. May 17, 2023

We are an optimistic species.  Always exploring, striving to accomplish a goal (big or small), finding ways to be happy, helpful.  Listening, watching, reaching to feel fully alive, engaged, purposeful.  Wanting to love one person or many and be loved in return.  Willing to be vulnerable, determined to continue and try any way. 

Needing to leave a mark that says, “I was here; I did my best; I hope I made a difference; I hope I made someone smile” even if no one but you ever knows or remembers.  Believing that someone will know and remember - just as you do - with a heart that is grateful and a smile that embraces new possibilities each and every day.  

We take care of ourselves so we can bring joy and hope to others and, by so doing, refresh ourselves.  It is a lovely never-ending circle.  Once begun, the tiniest thing can often have the most wonderful, long-lasting impact on more and more people in the biggest circle that we can ever imagine.  

In the children’s story Plant A Kiss by Amy Kraus Rosenthal with illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds, giving and receiving one tiny thing exudes a power that grows and grows with everyone it touches.  Whatever your age, this story will speak to you.  Just watch.

Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 19, Question of the Day:

These 13 books represent award winning authors and many thousands of happy children who learn about life and themselves through stories imbued with gentle, loving honesty, and humor.  As parents and teachers, you know how worthy these books are. Yet all but one were banned at some time or another.  The one to escape that fate so far is 2) Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.  Note: 2,570 children’s books were banned across the U.S. in 2022 (American Library Association).

Find Your YOU. November 21, 2023

     Not too long ago, I told my good friend, Betty, about a self-help book for teens that I developed, and which is almost complete.  I shared with her how excited I am and hopeful that the ideas it offers will be a source of self-care, empowerment, and happiness for our youth.  Betty replied that she can feel my excitement and that she knows how much I care about kids and want to help them thrive.

     I am gratified that she sees me this way.  But what she said next is so true, so perfect in its directness and simplicity that I told her it is too good to keep to myself and asked her permission to share it with you.  Being Betty, she said, “Of course you may!”  Here it is:

“When you find something that makes you feel good, you know you have found your ‘you’.  And you then know that you have a go-to place that is all your own.” Betty Boyd, 10-28-23

     Each of has a special interest, a passion that brings us joy.  It may be a hobby or our life’s work.  Either way, it is part of our legacy.  If we are not already doing so, we should take my friend Betty’s advice, revel in it, then share it.

Answer to Unpacking Education No. 24, Question of the Day:

Today’s homeschooling goal is child-focused personalization and flexibility.  It manifests in a variety of student groupings and education pedagogies that may be implemented in a variety of combinations and settings. That said, the correct answer is d) 60% of home school families use some online classes for their children’s education.