EP226 Seven takeaways from this school year that simplify teaching from now on (with Amy Stohs)

What made teaching easier and more sustainable this school year, and how can we carry those principles over into next year?

Those are the questions I'm exploring in this podcast episode with my guest, Amy Stohs. She is currently a 2nd grade teacher in Northern Virginia, and was named Teacher of the Year in 2019 while she was teaching 6th grade.

Amy’s experience is unique in that she has now taught both elementary AND middle school in a pandemic, so she’s experienced the challenges of working with both younger and older students in face-to-face and hybrid learning.

Her experience is also unique in that she’s been an active participant in my 40 Hour Teacher Workweek program for the last few years, and I’ve been really impressed by the ideas and resources she shares in that community.

So at the start of this school year, I reached out to Amy and asked her to join the 40 Hour team, and help create the adaptations for the program for remote and hybrid learning. If you’re part of 40 Hour or the 40 Hour Grad Program and you’ve loved the remote/hybrid bonuses, you’re about to hear directly from the teacher who brainstormed them with me.

Amy’s going to share 7 principles that helped simplify her teaching and make her work more sustainable:

• Do what HAS to get done, not what you WANT to get done.
• Backward design your classroom management: figure out the goal, then decide what action steps will get you there.
• Go slow to go fast.
• Instead of always doing your best, ask “What do I have to give today?”
• When you’ve tried it all, try one thing.
• Shift focus from finding something new and different to doubling down on what we know kids need.
• Look for moments of joy and find the fun.

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