A free visioning poster for inspired teaching

I had the honor of presenting at TeachersPayTeachers’ 10 year anniversary event at their office in Manhattan this past Saturday. Since the theme was 10 Years of Inspired Teaching, my session topic was on how to maintain a growth mindset in order to stay inspired.

Photo credits from the top going clockwise: MathTechConnections; GlitterMeetsGlue; TpTAmy; MsDuffysDream. Click the photo to see them all on the Instagram #TpTinspiredteaching hashtag because I’m the woooorst at remembering to take pictures.

Let’s face it: by this point in the school year, everyone is TIRED. It’s hard to muster up the energy to push through problems, especially when things that used to work with your students suddenly don’t seem effective anymore. You have 2 choices: stay in survival mode and just try to make it through the last weeks of school, or dig down deep within yourself to remember WHY you teach, and use that vision to help you keep going.

I wanted every person who attended the event to leave with a reminder of why they teach, and to have a clear vision for their work in the classroom. And I want each of you who are reading this to know your vision, too.

So, I created a couple of prompts to help you cut through all the nonsense that steals your joy, and return to the source of your motivation. I incorporated a few motivational quotes that have inspired me personally, and then turned the entire idea over to Art with Jenny K, who created this beautiful visioning poster:

Download the poster for free from Jenny’s store

I encourage you to take just 5 or 10 minutes to print out this poster and reflect on WHY you do what you do. Then hang the poster up in your classroom or display it somewhere else that will help you tap back into your vision on those tough days when you’re just hoping to make it through. This poster can also be used in staff meetings or professional development as part of a visioning exercise for teachers.

Click here to read Jenny’s post and see more uses for the poster

In keeping with the “stay inspired” theme, you can get my best selling growth mindset lessons which have now been used in thousands of classrooms all over the world.

This is my favorite resource out of everything I’ve created because of the feedback teachers have left sharing how it’s changed their lives and the lives of their students. It would be a great unit to end the year with, and then re-use again in the fall with your new class.

I recommend using the unit conjunction with Art with Jenny K’s growth mindset collaboration poster, which is super easy for teachers, fun for kids, and will make a lasting impression as a hallway display.

You might also want to check out the eBook version of Unshakeable, which has an entire chapter on how to create a vision for teaching and tap into it when you’re feeling discouraged. There’s also a free online book club to help you reconnect with why you teach.

Lastly, check out my guest post for TpT on growth mindset shifts, which will help you identify any self-defeating thoughts and replace them with growth mindset thoughts that are empowering and energizing.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Would you share your vision for teaching in the comments? What gets you up in the morning and motivates you to push through the challenges you face?