AJ Monarrez, M.S.’s Post

Count me among the students Judy Brown helped during her 43 years at Watkinson School . As a new educator, here are some #wordsofwisdom I gleaned from Judy's career: 🥉 Keep your humanity front and center. Often, this advice is applied in the context of interacting with students (e.g: see students as human), but I think that it is easier to be human as a student—especially if you happen to be a student with one or more marginalized identity—if the people in power who you interface with (that means educators in all roles) first own their own fallibility—and lives outside of work! An easy way to set these kind of humanity-affirming (and thus healthy) expectations: Explicitly say when you check your emails/other work communications in your email signature, syllabus, or any other student-facing information page. If you, for example, work from 9 to 5 on Mondays through Fridays then, this way, a student who sends an email at 6 PM at Friday KNOWS that you are not blowing them off if you respond at 9 AM on Monday. Another (more fun) way to display your humanity is to have mementos in your office or virtual space, inviting conversation about hobbies and other non-work dimensions of life. (No person is one-dimensional!) 📧 🍋 🥈 Don't forget about SMART goals. At least for me, this is something I tend to slip with as the school year / semester goes on, but they're called SMART goals for a reason! And they're smart for students and educators alike! Start a meeting with discussion of goals named (and preferably written or in some other way made "tangible") last time. End a meeting with articulation of new goals and/or refinement of previously-articulated goals. Ambition is important, but ambition without direction is a recipe for burnout. And victories of any size are revitalizing—and call for celebration! 📋 🔥 In case you need a reminder of what SMART goals are: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Based 🥇 Always maintain a curiosity stance. Enter as a co-investigator, not the judge. Combine your expertise (e.g: of a program's GPA requirements, of your class' rules around late work, etc.) with the expertise of the student (e.g: career goals, circumstances that led to work not being completed on-time, etc.). You are on the same team! And even if you do not get the result that you want, there is always a learning experience to be gleaned. 🔎 🧠 What lessons have you learned from retiring educators who touched your life? Please share in this space! 💭 #grateful #reflection #educator

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At Hawkes Learning, service isn't just what we do—it's who we are! 💙 Your success is the heart of our mission. How can we support your learning journey this semester? Check out this blog to explore our service commitments and see why educators at institutions like Quinnipiac University and Piedmont University trust Hawkes Learning: https://lnkd.in/gy2FFXy5

Christmas time in 5th Grade is the most exciting thing ever! The kids got to read about the history of Candy Canes and write about Christmas traditions around the world! I've learned a lot about lesson planning around the holidays, and how with a little bit of strategy, you can keep kids engaged by having them learn about the holidays! (This is a picture from their class party!) #provocitydistrictCTEinternships #edgemontelementary #fifthgrade

Brian Raines thoughtfully explains the continuing challenges faced by those of us who come to the profession from atypical circumstances. He also exemplifies the life-changing power of higher education. As we continue to grapple with the many challenges facing higher ed, it is essential to stay focused on stories like Brian's. I often wonder what the world would be like had we not spent most of human history excluding people from education and limiting their potential based on accidents of birth. While we will never know what we could have created, it is clear to me that destroying a system that in a very short time has created incredible intellectual capital, improved the human condition immensely, and overall made our world a better place is foolish. Yes, higher ed needs to be made better. We need to prioritize student success and support, we need to embrace meaningful intellectual diversity, we need to be better citizens of the spaces we occupy. However, there is no scenario in which those shortcomings warrant the wholesale destruction of the best system of education the world has ever known. Many of us on the inside know this and are fighting to protect one of our country's most valuable assets. Those of you on the outside need to join us in the fight. The world's most creative and successful economy was built on the foundation created by higher education. Destroy the foundation and the structure will crumble.

Great perspective on the North Carolina power grid.

Finding our focus and refining our purpose at OAA.

I spent some time on campus today discussing opportunities for students, the current blockchain landscape, and what we can do to be prepared. Do you have a #cryptocurrency club or want to start one? Let's connect! In need of blockchain education at your school? EMURGO Academy can help. Connect with me to learn more. #futureleaders #techeducation #EMURGO #SCATDAO

The euphoric concept that everyone is special and everyone is a winner, even though no commitment and effort is made by the so called "special", creates delusive sense of victory. This leads to a dopamine addiction which everyone must get every now and then to feel good. This habit after some time, becomes a routine requirement amd sense of entitlement to get a quick appreciation without genuine effort. In the long term, this creates an army of narcissistic citizens who are used to a 'certificate of attendance'. In the long term such "baseless winning" prevents the need for grit and consistent efforts to achieve anything significant and meaningful since the mental reward system that push us to perform consistently towards a certain goal would have already received its dopamine. This is dangerous and one of the biggest inhibitor in the way of realising one's TRUE POTENTIAL. Agree?