To be a teacher and teaching children and youngsters is still a wonderful profession: it never gets dull or boring. But it is also a professional life under pressure. The teacher is constantly serving others, without time for him or herself. This book is a guide to find that balance which means gaining access to more energy.

The life of a teacher is complex, and on the best days, you head home knowing that you have positively impacted the lives of your students and in a broader sense potentially bettered the world. Those are the days that you think about when you decide to become a teacher, those are the days they tell you about in college, those are the days you teach for, but those are not all the days. And those other days? Well, they don't get mentioned much, do they? This book is for those days, and sometimes weeks, months, years... when it's hard to see the fruit of the seeds you're planting. It's about developing the resilience to be the best educator in the dimmest of times and becoming the light for others in your field. It takes reflection, planning, and work, but it's all worth it to reclaim the joy in teaching. Joy in Teaching is a book to inspire reflection and to motivate action. This is a book for educators who see the need for a new approach to teaching for their students and themselves. It is for all those who want to know they are not alone when the profession they have dedicated their lives to begins to lose its joy. It is a beacon of light amidst the turbulent turmoil of a profession in which statistics prove has the ability to devour. Nobody decides on a career in education for selfish reasons. Those who choose this path have done so because they care deeply and desire strongly to make a difference. The rewards of teaching are great, but often it is not without sacrifice. Educators face pressures at all levels and each year more and more is added. No one benefits for frustrated or burned-out teachers. However, the benefits from happy, caring, strong teachers are immense. The time is now to reclaim the joy in teaching. Perfect for personal reading and for book studies and professional development, Joy in Teaching clearly lays out methods and tools to boost teacher resilience, reduce job-related stress, and support career retention in schools.

"Start with Joy is a guidebook describing ways teachers can make joy and purpose the center of their teaching and students' literacy learning. Organized by seven pillars, based on the science of happiness, this book offers reasons why students' happiness matters now more than ever, providing lessons, strategies, resources, and children's literature suggestions for how to make sure joy and purpose are at the heart of all instruction"--

Presents a collection of essays and practical advice, including lesson plans and activities, to promote writing in all aspects of the curriculum.

Aimed at motivating teachers to create a welcoming and challenging environment for their students, this professional book is told through a series of anecdotes and stories. It will remind teachers of the intrinsic rewards of teaching (to teach children to love learning) and the powerful role they play as models in this endeavor.

The Joy of Not Knowing takes every aspect of the curriculum and of school life and transforms it into a personalised, meaningful and enjoyable experience for all. It offers readers an innovative, theoretical and practical guide to establish a values-based, enquiry-led and challenge-rich learning to learn approach to teaching and learning and to school leadership. This thought-provoking guide provides the reader with a wealth of whole-class, easy-to-implement, malleable, practical ideas and case studies that can be personalised to the vision of each setting, age-group and curriculum. It brings together, as a whole-school framework, the strategies that have been shown to have the greatest impact on practitioner’s professional fulfilment and on children’s life chances, love of learning, intrinsic motivation and enthusiasm for wanting to know. The Joy of Not Knowing enables schools to launch the academic year with a bespoke JONK Learning to Learn Week that enables every student to succeed develops philosophical, creative and critical problem-solving and multi-lingual thinking skills establishes collaborative cultures of thinking, learning and leadership informs practice through active action research incorporates a values-led democratic approach to school life nurtures school-pupil-family-community partnerships Designed for school leaders and practitioners at all levels and across all ages, this practical guide shows how all students can thrive and develop the dispositions of successful lifelong learners and global citizens.

"My wish," writes Berit Gordon, "is for there to be more joy and less struggle in a profession where people put in such tremendous effort and do such essential work." No matter what supports you might have in your school or district, you can take charge of your teacher growth and craft your own professional learning journey. The Joyful Teacherprovides a structure to help K-12 teachers across all content areas reflect on their professional development needs, set goals that work, and access practical strategies that will help them meet those goals. While anyone can pop in and pull out strategies for what's needed right now, the goals and strategies are organized in a progression to set teachers up for the most success and highest impact. Coaches and administrators will also find numerous ways to support the teachers they work with and help them feel and be effective. Each chapter begins with a self-assessment checklist to help you find which goal and strategy will be your entry point. Within each strategy you'll find step-by-step instructions, explanations for why and how the strategy works, a detailed "how to," supports and indicators to help you know if the idea is working, and references to help you continue exploring if you want to learn even more. Berit includes grade band suggestions and grade level modifications to help you make the strategy work best for you and your students. There is no "right" place to start and no goal that is more sophisticated or more important than any other. The Joyful Teacherhelps you prioritize what is most essential for what you need and choose goals and strategies that work for you and your students. Where will your journey begin?