The Teachers Lounge

We’ve all heard the warnings to stay out of the teachers’ lounge. The lounge has a reputation of being a negative place filled with teachers complaining, a space that makes you feel more discouraged when you leave than when you came in.

The new collaborative blog The Teachers Lounge is looking to change that. Formerly called Inspired Teacher, the site was founded by Laura Parker, a former teacher, parent to three, and homeschooling mom. She’s currently living in Thailand, where her husband is directing a Christian humanitarian foundation.

Here are the three goals of the site outlined by Laura:

1. Inspiration for the Teacher.  Whether you are teaching in the classroom or at home, we will be writing encouraging stories and ideas to develop  your own passion in educating. Think of us as your personal cheerleaders, your thematic background music, that extra cup of coffee when you’re feeling weary.  You can expect quotes, questions, videos, stories, real-life examples– all aimed solely at the encouragement ofyou.

2. Character Education Ideas. We will be posting simple lesson plans which you can implement in your own classrooms to promote quality character in your students.  Most lessons will require little or no planning {Hey, you’re teachers, you’re busy, we get it}.  Stop in to My Teachers Lounge and let the community here know how the lessons went.

3. Encouraging Community.  Our hope is that this site will foster positive community among educators.  This will be a place not to debate over laws or methods, but a place to cheer one another on.  Teaching is hard work, but, somehow, it’s not quite as hard when we know that we’re not the only ones doing it.  Collaboration is key,always, and we want our online space to be a bit of a virtual teachers lounge where your voice can be heard.

I can’t think of a more important mission or focus, and am thrilled that Laura recently invited me to become a Teacher’s Lounge writer. There are currently 9 of us writing for the blog, and I am so honored to be part of such an amazing team of educators!

My very first post on the site was an eight question get-to-know-you  interview that each contributor answers when joining the team. Today I shared a post called The Problem of “Supposed To” which is about examining our expectations for ourselves and others in our work as teachers.

Some of my favorite recent posts by other contributors include:

• 5 Ways to Make Your Classroom a Kinder Place
• Asking a Question Might Be the Smartest Thing You Do All Day
• For When You Don’t Agree With Policy
• What is Your One Little Word?
• The Gift of Sincere Compliments
• Have We Killed Creativity in Our Classrooms?
• Begin With The End(a 5 minute activity to motivate, inspire, and focus students)

You can subscribe to the blog via email or RSS feed, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, or share your ideas in a guest blog post.

Hope to see you in the teachers’ lounge!