Can We Find Sanity in Teaching?

Original Link: http://www.coreofeducation.com/2014/04/07/can-we-find-sanity-in-teaching/

ASCD Author Mike Anderson spent time with the Core to discuss his book The Well-Balanced Teacher: How to Work Smarter and Stay Sane Inside the Classroom and Out. We first met Anderson at ASCD 2014 in Los Angeles last month. Anderson had been speaking about the choices he had to make between being a good father and a good teacher at the same time. As Anderson began tackling this conundrum he started to look at how time was evaporating from his classroom.

Anderson compiled every moment that eroded classroom instruction time over the course of an entire school year. The results were mind-blowing and the foundation for his book. Today, Anderson is a professional development specialist and consulting teacher for Northeast Foundation for Children, a nonprofit organization that supports teachers across the United States in implementing Responsive Classroom teaching practices. He taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades in public schools in New Hampshire and Connecticut for 15 years.

He has also taught in preschools, coached swim teams, and taught graduate classes at the University of New Hampshire summer literacy institute. In 2004, he was awarded a national Milken Educator Award for Excellence in teaching, and he was a finalist for New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 2005. He is also the author of The Research-Ready Classroom (with Andy Dousis, Heinemann, 2006). Mike lives in Durham, New Hampshire, with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Ethan and Carly.

Enjoy!

Rod

Author

  • Mike Anderson

    Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond.

    As a classroom teacher, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award and was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written ten books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher.

    When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, sorting baseball cards and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

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Mike Anderson
Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond. As a classroom teacher, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award and was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written ten books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher. When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, sorting baseball cards and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

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