Blog Post #6
Mareike Hachemer, in her TED talk “Empowering Educators for the Global Goals”, asks her students, “What can you do in the next 4 weeks that will change the world around you just a little bit?” We are challenging you in the same way: What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit? In addition, if you choose to pass this challenge on to your students, please share the ways they showed they are change-makers!
In the spirit of Mareike Hachemer’s challenge, over the next four weeks, I plan to focus on strengthening the culture of kindness and connection within my school community. My goal is to create intentional moments through small acts like personalized notes, recognition of student growth, and encouraging peer shout-outs that help students feel seen, valued, and supported. I will also incorporate a mini “change-maker challenge” into my classroom, inviting students to identify one action they can take to positively impact our school or community. Whether it’s helping a classmate, reducing waste, spreading encouragement, or contributing to a cause they care about, I want them to experience firsthand how even small efforts can create meaningful change. By modeling consistency, compassion, and purpose, I hope to inspire students to see themselves as capable world-changers, one small action at a time.
ReplyDeleteI am not currently teaching, so my ideas would involve my three kids and look a bit different. To improve the world around me, I will bring Christmas treats and some homemade crafts over to my neighbor. I will participate in my church's Angel Tree and contribute food or grocery gift cards toward our local food pantry. I will spend quality time with my kids by playing games with them, reading to them, or letting them help as I cook supper. I will go through the stuff in my basement and collect items to donate to our local charity rummage. With it being the Christmas season, there are many opportunities to do good, and I definitely plan to make these things happen.
ReplyDeleteMareike Hachemer, in her TED talk “Empowering Educators for the Global Goals”, asks her students, “What can you do in the next 4 weeks that will change the world around you just a little bit?” We are challenging you in the same way: What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit? In addition, if you choose to pass this challenge on to your students, please share the ways they showed they are change-makers!
ReplyDeleteIn the next 4 weeks I will have 1 meaningful conversation per day with a student to find out more about them. I will try to dig a little bit deeper than the standard basic conversation and find out about some goals and visions for the future. One a day may not sound like a lot, but over 4 weeks it will amount to something special! I will pass this challenge on and talk about it with my students as well. This kind of goal is what makes the world move in a positive direction. We all want a better world.
I am not currently teaching but if I was, I would implement a four-week challenge and focus on improving the world around me. I would seek out opportunities to involve students in different types of volunteering and to teach them the impact you can make in someone else's life. I would also have more communication with my students' parents about what we are doing in the classroom. The focus would be improving the world around us. I would seek out the importance of different types of volunteerism and how it impacts us all. Then I would start a project with my older elementary students to teach and involve younger grades collaborating together. Small ripples over time make a big impact and this concept could be built upon year after year.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge has been put out to make a change in the next four weeks. I think for me that trying to portray a positive attitude and outlook would be a good goal. It's just after Christmas break right now and this is a hard time of the school year. Even just walking down the hall and having a positive greeting for students and staff can make a difference. Also, encouraging the students to be positive is something that I would like to do in the next four weeks. I also would like to try to teach lessons in a different way. Teach the same lesson, but try a new technique. That keeps things interesting for me as well.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I can do for the next 4 weeks and beyond is just have more meaningful conversations with students. I started this school year with making sure that I am always out in the hallway between periods and welcoming each of my students into the class. As I get new students each semesters, I work even harder during those first few weeks and welcome them by their name. Those little things can have a huge impact on the student as well as their behavior in the classroom. With having more meaningful conversations, I had a student already this semester avoiding my class because she didn't like to talk to others or work with others. She was being rude to me and we stepped out and had a conversation about what is truly going on. After that day, she has already made a friend in the class and seems happier overall. I was a win in my book to help her get out of her funk and branch out of her shell.
ReplyDelete"What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit?"
ReplyDeleteI feel like a good way to change the world around me in the next four weeks would be to get to know each of my students a little better. Teaching in such a small community is a blessing as it is pretty easy to know our students and their families. However, each one of my 17 students are different and special in their own way. Many weeks I have them write about their life in their journal. I read these and try to have a short discussion with them about what they wrote. Another challenge I have done before and would like to do with this class is to have them write one nice thing about the other students in the class. I feel like it's important to practice the act of kindness this way. You never know when telling someone something you like about them might make their whole day.
In the next 4 weeks, I will focus on stopping gossip, offering support to those around me, assuming everyone is well-intentioned, and remaining consistent. By doing this, I hope to create a more positive, trusting environment for colleagues, students, and families—making small but meaningful changes in the world around me.
ReplyDeleteIn my position, I am not part of the staff- I just have an office in the building as I travel around the district and spend time in all of the schools in the district. My plan is to make time and to have conversations with my colleagues in the building to get to know them better. I feel like this is a tough and stressful time of the year as everyone is trying hard to cover the necessary material and prepare the students for state testing in April, so it is a time that many teachers (and students) need a pick-me-up.
ReplyDeleteIn the next four weeks, I am going to try really hard to stay positive and more patient with my students and colleagues. We all know March can be a stressful month as students are very comfortable with each other and do not always show the best behavior. Showing them grace and patience can help the situation. Even though it is an exhausting time of year, making sure I am always upbeat and giving 100% to my students will help that positivity. With my coworkers, I also want to be more patient and positive. I think sometimes teachers are also negative together and that takes the school culture down so I want to work at keeping the school vibes up!
ReplyDeleteThe next four weeks for us just happens to be the last four weeks of the school year as well. I am going to try and be a positive resource for my students as the last month of school can always be stressfull for students. With end of the year testing combined with numerous extra curricular events it seems like there is always something going on. What I hope do in my classes is be as flexible as I possibly can with assignment due dates and when we have tests to accomadate my students as well as trying to keep high expectations in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteOur students have a community service requirement before they graduate. It is a certain number of hours of community service. In the next 4 weeks, I am going to encourage my students to do more than the required hours of community service. I will encourage them to go to schools, nursing homes, animal shelters, Salvation Army, and anywhere else to give of their time and talents to help these organizations and make a difference in our community.
ReplyDeleteFor not only the next four weeks but for the remainder of the 4th quarter, I am going to make my students know without a doubt that they are loved, have purpose, and have it in them to do great things in the world. We are stuck in the midst of smarter balance review and testing. I feels sometimes we get lost in the stress of the scores to take moments to laugh, enjoy each other, and have fun! We are going to set goals which includes both academic, progress goals, family, and friend goals. I am going to listen to my students a little more, hear their stories, and appreciate the time that I have left with them.
ReplyDeleteMareike Hachemer, in her TED talk “Empowering Educators for the Global Goals”, asks her students, “What can you do in the next 4 weeks that will change the world around you just a little bit?” We are challenging you in the same way: What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit? In addition, if you choose to pass this challenge on to your students, please share the ways they showed they are change-makers!
ReplyDeleteWe are entering the last 2 months of school. I will continue to pour into the relationships already established with my children but continue to grow those relationships as well with me and each other. This is a time of year when things get tough with spring fever for both students and teachers. I will implement what I talked about in the last blog post. I will start having the children work in specific goal groups based on their needs. This involves peer teaching. It will not only help them further understand how they can teach each other but the importance of collaboration over competition. It also teaches them with specific focus you can overcome challenging things.
What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit? In addition, if you choose to pass this challenge on to your students, please share the ways they showed they are change-makers!
ReplyDeleteI know that she said that she'll be teaching to 2050 and her students will being working until 2100, but I tend to disagree and think she might be a bit short-sighted. The future will be AI and there may not be needs for teachers? So I push students (since I'm a computer teacher) to learn programming. Think forward and I use Tesla and Musk as an example. He thinks out of the box and we as teachers need to be thinking out of the box.
This talk is a powerful reminder that meaningful change does not have to be large or dramatic to matter. As a high school, School Counselor, one thing I can focus on over the next four weeks is increasing intentional connection with students who may go unnoticed. I can be more proactive about check-ins, especially with students who may not be asking for help but may still be struggling quietly. I can also make it a point to slow down and have more consistent, positive interactions with students in the hallway in the morning and throughout the school day, as a way to show them they are seen and valued. Another small but meaningful change I can make is strengthening follow-through. When a student or family leaves a conversation with me, I want to be more consistent about checking back in with them. That simple act can build trust and make students feel supported in a more lasting way. If I were to pass this challenge on to students, I would encourage them to choose small actions that improve the environment around them, such as including someone new, checking in on a classmate, smiling at someone or showing appreciation to a staff member who has helped them with a simple thank you. These are simple actions, but they can shift the tone of a school day for someone else. Over four weeks, I would look for change-makers in the small moments. Students who invite others in, who speak more kindly, or who take time to support a peer. Those actions may seem small on the surface, but they build a stronger, more connected school community.
ReplyDeleteMareike Hachemer, in her TED talk “Empowering Educators for the Global Goals”, asks her students, “What can you do in the next 4 weeks that will change the world around you just a little bit?” We are challenging you in the same way: What can YOU do in the next 4 weeks that will improve the world around you just a little bit? In addition, if you choose to pass this challenge on to your students, please share the ways they showed they are change-makers!
ReplyDeleteIn the next four week I can improve the world around me by by noticing and responding to small things that matter. One way to do this is by offering encouragement, recognizing effort, and responding to mistakes with patience. It is when students feel support that the develop confidence and resilience. These simple and small interactions have the potential to build an overall positive and supportive classroom and school.
I would pass this challenge on to my students by encouraging them to reflect on how their words and actions affect others. I would have them commit to four weeks of intentional acts of kindness such as leaving not of encouragement on student lockers. By reflecting on these actions, students will see how positive change starts with seeing a need. Empowering students to see how their efforts can contribute to a better classroom, school, and/or world.
Students benefit from learning that global change begins with small, intentional actions that they can be a part of. Teachers play a powerful role in helping students see themselves as active contributors to the world. Global challenges may see large and overwhelming, but when the challenges are broke down into small, achievable actions students can make a difference in the world. Students can make a difference and as an educator, I can help them see this.
I imagine there are lots of things I can do in the next four weeks to change the world around me a little bit. One of those would be to be a good role model for all those I meet. I can be kind, helpful, generous, and friendly. This can be at the grocery store, at church, or in my neighborhood. I can give freely of my time, talent, and treasures in all spaces in the community and beyond. Volunteering time in various community groups, donating to various groups, and working to get others to do the same would change the world around me. I think it is important to remember that in order to make changes, often, small things can make big changes. I also believe having expectations of those I associate with is a great example to those around me. I no longer have a classroom but think things like random acts of kindness challenges, cleaning up an area of the community, or volunteering in various ways in the community are ways you can get students involved in making a change in the world they live in. These activities also show them the importance of making a change in your own surroundings.
ReplyDelete