I typically only have one of my kids home with me each afternoon, but yesterday my kindergartner was home sick. My preschooler was excited to have a buddy at home with her, and insisted they play with our magnetic tiles. I got them out of the closet and expected them to start building and creating with them. Instead of doing that, I was surprised to see that they had begun to sort the tiles by size, shape, and color. My teacher heart leaped as I watched them unintentionally engage themselves in a pre-math activity. Learning without them knowing it’s learning? Yes, please!
These kinds of activities are a win-win for both kids and teachers (or parents). The kids are going about the task, having fun playing, all the while learning or practicing skills or knowledge they have learned. Oftentimes as teachers, we purposely set up these kinds of activities for our students. We try to plan and execute fun, engaging ways to teach our content. We intentionally create opportunities for fun in our classrooms— sometimes students can hardly believe that they are actually having a fun time at school!
Sometimes these kinds of activities and learning opportunities happen naturally, without us even trying, such as what happened with my kids and their magnetic tiles. These unintentional lessons can be a gateway to further learning as kids experiment with methods, concepts, and ideas. They can lead to increased problem solving, hypothesis forming, and further investigation.
If we can get students to become active participants in their learning, they are more likely to remember what is being taught. Connecting an experience to a concept allows for the brain to create a new synapse or neural pathway. It’s amazing! Allowing the brain to work cooperatively with the hands, eyes, ears, and other senses heightens the learning experience and makes it more memorable.
When we allow kids to push the limits of learning on their own, amazing things happen. If we let go of some of the control over an activity or task, oftentimes students will take control and learn more than we had planned for— which is never a bad thing! It’s hard sometimes to let go and allow students to explore, but the reward can be great if we do.
Giving students the opportunity to take initiative with what they are learning lends itself to students becoming more engaged and interested in the learning process. It’s especially amazing if they get to a point where they forget or don’t even realize that they are learning or doing school work. Having fun and learning? A golden combination, for sure!
Columbine High School. Robb Elementary School. Sandy Hook Elementary. Santa Fe High School. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school. Virginia Tech University.
Do any of these sound familiar? These schools are all tied together by one thing— one thing that no school should ever be marked by: senseless acts of violence in the form of mass shootings.
Today feels heavy. Another school experienced tragedy this morning as it was attacked with a senseless act of violence. More children, teachers, school staff, and families traumatized because of one person’s decision. Their lives will never be the same again, forever marked by this day and its events.
Hearing about these kinds of tragedies happening is hard, and it never gets easier. I think if it did easier to hear, that would mean we’ve become desensitized and numb to the issue, and I hope we never reach that point. I honestly hope there comes a day when we don’t even have to worry about this kind of stuff happening in our schools.
It’s horrific to think that our children have to practice shelter in place and active shooter drills at school. No child should ever have to worry about that. But the sad reality is that they do. I’m grateful for teachers who take these drills seriously and who would do anything to keep their students safe in the event of an emergency. It’s a heavy responsibility to place on our teachers’ shoulders, but it’s one that they take on when they choose to become a teacher.
I was a sophomore in high school when the Columbine High School Massacre happened. I remember being in complete shock and disbelief that something so evil and cruel could happen. It was such a foreign concept to me. I wish it was still a foreign concept.
While I wish I could say that this sort of thing will never happen again, history has proven to us that that is unfortunately not likely. Even though we cannot control what other people choose to do, we can control ourselves. As teachers, we can create a safe, loving environment in our classrooms. We can prioritize the safety of our students and make sure we have a plan of action that can be quickly implemented if ever the need arise.
And while I know that there isn’t a one-and-done, super easy solution to this epidemic, we can do our best to treat one another with kindness, respect, and love. We can teach our children to do the same. We can and must stand up against violent, senseless acts, because our children deserve that from us.
So today, take a minute to hold your loved ones a little closer and a little longer. Teach them to be kind. Teach them to respect others and to stand up for what is right, even if no one else does.
This world we live in today is anything but easy, but we can do our best to face it with courage and strength. And to those who have personally been affected by these terrible, senseless acts, I send my love and share your heartache. May you be lifted and carried as you grieve.
Today I’m spotlighting another one of our incredible Build A Better Future Scholarship awardees, Maria Avila-Silva. Maria’s project, called Pathfinders, was founded with the goal to help immigrant and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students like herself build confidence and find access to the resources needed for post-high school education.
Maria resides in Florida, where she recently graduated from high school. She also completed two semesters of the Innovation Academy Program at the University of Florida. She will be attending Santa Fe College this fall, with plans to major in economics on the pre-med track. Maria and her family immigrated to the United States from Venezuela when she was in middle school, and her favorite treat is Cri-Cri, which is a chocolate bar from Venezuela.
When Maria and her family moved here to the US, she remembers feeling isolated, alone, and unseen. She didn’t know the language and felt intimidated. Because of her experience, she had the desire to help other immigrant students so they did not feel the same isolation and confusion she did. She told me, “I didn’t want anyone to feel as unseen or unsupported as I once did. I wanted to make sure that every student, no matter where they came from or what their background looked like, could have a fair and equal chance at going to college and pursuing something they love. I knew that without guidance, that dream could be out of reach for many so I became the person I once needed.” Thus, the idea of Pathfinders was born.
Maria began by speaking with teachers to get their feedback, then researched strategies on how to teach and motivate students. She wanted to create a safe space for the students who would come through her program. While her project didn’t have any large expenses, there were some costs that needed to be covered. Maria wrote, “I… covered the costs myself, from snacks to materials, using money from a part-time job. I wanted students to know someone believed in them enough to invest in them personally.”
Projects like this don’t come without their difficulties. For Maria, that meant trying to balance her project with her own academic responsibilities. She quickly learned strong time management skills, learned to prioritize, plan ahead, and ask for help when it was needed.
As she learned to balance it all, the project grew and so did its impact. Not only did Pathfinders make a difference for immigrant and ESOL students, the general student body began to take notice, bringing more understanding and respect for the immigrant ESOL students. The students involved with Pathfinders became more confident— asking questions, getting involved, and finding a place in their school community. With Maria’s guidance and help, students in Pathfinders were able to apply for (and some even received) scholarships, apply to college, and find the resources they needed to be successful. This program created a family of students, who came together from different backgrounds, all with a common goal— to feel seen, included, and successful.
Though she is preparing to begin her college courses, Maria plans to maintain contact with her students, and to continue to be available to answer their questions about college, scholarships, and housing, or to simply talk through their concerns. Maria’s goal was to help students find their way and purpose, and in doing so, she also found hers. She said, “I made lifelong friendships and learned the true value of showing up for others. It taught me that action speaks louder than words, and that change doesn’t have to come from a big organization or a massive budget, it can start with one person deciding not to stay silent. It deepened my love for community work and affirmed that my purpose lies in using my voice to empower others. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would, a thousand times over.”
What an amazing project, Maria! I have no doubt you made an incredible and lasting impact on the students you worked with and helped. Thank you for sharing your talents and passion with the students involved in Pathfinders, and for allowing us to get a glimpse into the amazing and powerful change you brought. We wish you the best of luck as you move forward with your college career!
We’re just over a week into the new school year, and one of my kids has already pushed back over required reading time. For the past several years, his teachers have set a required time for reading every night, ranging from 20-30 minutes. As an avid reader and former teacher, I’ve obviously been on board with these daily reading requirements. It’s a no-brainer for me.
This year, however, his teacher won’t be assigning a specific amount of time or number of pages to read each night. Instead, students have a chart on their school computers where they can log any minutes they read, though it’s not a requirement or an assignment. Naturally, my son took that to mean, “I can read for even just one minute and put that in my log!” Fourth graders, right?! You can imagine his dismay when I told him that even though his teacher wasn’t going to assign reading time, my husband and I were. Despite his nightly protests, we have held strong to this boundary, and most nights, after his 30 minutes are up, he asks if he can read just a little bit more— and who am I to say no to that?!
You might wonder why I choose to pick this battle. After all, it would be much easier to give up the fight and not have to listen to the whining and protesting every night. I’d probably even gain “cool mom” status with my son if I didn’t have him read. But honestly, I am not out to win “cool mom” status, and pushing through the whining is 100% worth it to me.
You see, I’ve encountered so many teenagers who struggle to read. Kids who really are very smart and capable, but just are not where they “should” be in regards to reading. Kids who are terrified to read out loud in front of their peers because they are not confident in their reading abilities. One way to combat this is to have kids read regularly— even a short 15 minutes a day can make a world of a difference in reading ability.
Reading goes so far beyond opening a book and following along. It opens doorways to many other skills! Reading increases vocabulary, improves writing skills, boosts confidence, encourages imagination, and increases knowledge, among other benefits. Reading is a life long skill. I know not everyone will continue to pick up a novel and read as adults, but the foundational skills gained through reading in the younger years are vital. Even on days I don’t pick up a book to read for fun, I am still reading things all day long— a menu at a restaurant, a recipe as I cook dinner, the labels on food at the store, road signs, texts, social media posts, and so on. The ability to read is one that cannot be put on the back burner.
In order for young kids to become better readers, they must keep reading. If someone wanted to be a better football player, they would continue to play football. The same goes for reading. It is simply a skill that must not be ignored. I might even go as far as to say that reading is one of the most important skills that can be learned. It is, after all, something that is used in every other subject they will learn. It is a skill that they will use no matter what career path they use.
So the next time your child or one of your students complains about reading time, remind them that you are actually helping them— Helping them become better readers, writers, thinkers, and doers, because reading is the key to opening doors to the future.
3….2….1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there. It’s August, not January.
You know the routine: a new year comes, and you excitedly set some goals or resolutions for yourself, only to have that excitement and motivation die out by February. I know I can’t be the only one who is guilty of this pattern.
Now, I know that it’s August, and most people aren’t even thinking about their goals for next year quite yet, but hear me out. What if, as teachers, we encouraged our students to set a goal for this new school year? A _______ Grade Resolution, if you will (you fill in the blank with whatever grade you teach). What if we take the time to teach our students how to set a goal, plan an appropriate attack strategy, and execute said plan so that they can see how powerful goal setting can be? What if our students gained more confidence in themselves and reached goals they didn’t think they could? What if?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a lot to lose here. Even if the goal isn’t reached, think about all that would be gained by trying! Confidence? Determination? Planning skills? I know I wouldn’t be mad if I made improvements in all of those areas!
Before you go forward with this, let’s remind ourselves about effective goal setting. It isn’t super beneficial to simply say you want to achieve something; you need a plan of action on how you are going to achieve that something. The goal needs to be realistic, progress needs to be measurable, and there need to be some parameters established. Essentially, the intended end result should be planned out in SMART goal style, with the goal being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. If students can plan a goal with these five areas in mind, their overall success will be much greater.
Most of us teachers know what a SMART goal might look like in relation to our jobs, but what might a SMART goal look like for a fourth grader? Let’s look at an example and see what each step might involve.
SMART Goal: I will improve my reading level by two levels by the end of the school year.
Now, let’s break this goal apart by looking at each of the five areas:
S: Specific. This means that the goal is detailed, the parameters are clear, and there isn’t any confusion about what is to be achieved. In this example, this student wants to improve their reading level by a certain amount by a specific date.
M: Measurable. A solid goal is one that can be tracked or measured. You can create data of some kind to see where you started and where you end up. In this case, the goal is to increase reading level by two levels. This is an easily measured goal, as progress can be monitored, recorded, and charted.
A: Attainable. When setting a goal, you need to be realistic. It would not be beneficial to set a goal that is so far out of reach, there is no possible way it can be achieved within the time frame you set. Using our example, if this student had said that they wanted to be reading on a college level by the end of fourth grade, it might not be super attainable. However, setting a goal to improve by two reading levels is going to be reached much easier.
R: Relevant. A goal needs to be relevant to the person or situation. If setting a goal to exercise more, you wouldn’t want to include anything about increasing your reading level. The goal needs to make sense for the time, place, and person. In our example, it makes sense that fourth grade student would be setting a reading goal to improve their reading skills, because that is something that would be worked on in that area and at that time.
T: Time-bound. Good goals need to have time limits. Obviously, it behooves all people to continually improve, but if a goal is to be measured and tracked, setting time limitations is helpful. In the example above, the student sets a time by which they want to have their goal achieved— the end of the school year. Having a clear end date can help the goal setter to plan accordingly. If they achieve the goal before the end date, great! If they need the full time they have decided upon, great! Setting a schedule can help motivate the person to continue working toward their goal, and to take steps along the way to push them toward their end goal.
Having students create and plan their own SMART goals is a great way to start the new school year. It will give the students something to work toward and look forward to. Goals give a sense of purpose and direction. You might consider creating an outline of some kind for students to follow as they create their goals. Have them do regular check-ins regarding the progress they are making. Track that progress so that they can see that their work is paying off and really is moving them toward their desired end result.
When they reach the end of their set time frame, have them evaluate themselves— did they achieve their goal? What kind of, if any, set backs did they encounter? If they didn’t make it to their goal, why? What kind of progress did they make? What did they learn along the way?
Celebrate their efforts, and encourage them to continue setting and working toward goals. Perhaps you might even consider setting a class-wide SMART goal that you can all work toward together, fostering class unity and purpose. However you do it, consider incorporating SMART goal setting in your curriculum! Goal setting is a great life skill to have, and knowing how to properly set and achieve a goal will give students an advantage as they get older.
One of our incredible recipients of our 2025 Build A Better Future Scholarship was Fowwaz Moeen, a graduating senior in Texas. His project, Food for Friends, aimed to provide fresh nutritious foods to individuals who are experiencing food insecurity in his area.
First, a little about Fowwaz: This fall, he will be attending UT Austin where he will begin his studies to double major in Computer Science and Physics. In addition to this incredible feat, he is also working toward logging enough flight hours to get his private pilot’s license! He says that dried mangoes are his favorite treat because “they’re sweet enough for late‑night coding sprints, light enough for the cockpit.”
Fowwaz first became aware of the problem of food insecurity in 2022 when Pakistan was hit with monsoon floods, which ultimately led to 1/3 of children facing malnutrition. His research during that time led him to realize that people in his own area were also facing the same problem. He writes, “That overlap of global catastrophe and local need inspired me to found Food for Friends: a student‑run greenhouse and garden that grows nutritious food and donates it to partner food banks serving Houston’s hardest‑hit neighborhoods.”
He began by conducting a needs assessment and figuring out the who, when, where, and what of the project. His high school already had a greenhouse they could use– it needed some major repairs, but they had something to start with. He led a grant application that brought in over $6,500 that was used to cover the greenhouse rebuild and their first 20 raised garden beds.
During this process, Fowwaz had to overcome hurdles and learn how to manage those set backs. The greenhouse repair was nearly finished when Hurricane Beryl ripped through their area, tearing off panels and twisting the structure. Discouraged, but not defeated, they were forced to start over. Thankfully, they had support from their school, which allowed them to purchase a new greenhouse so their work could continue.
Fowwaz teamed up with local gardening experts to learn gardening techniques and plan a proper garden to ensure the most successful harvest. Wanting to make sure that this initiative continued long after he had graduated, he established a leadership team of underclassmen to oversee the weekly operations. The school has also integrated Food for Friends into the middle and high school curriculum– each semester, new classes of students get the chance to take care of the garden beds and harvest the crops. This ongoing project will ensure that many people will benefit from the healthy food that is grown, harvested, and distributed.
Fowwaz also plans to advise remotely and return during college breaks to check in and monitor the project. He also hopes to create a sister garden project at UT Austin and partner with local food banks there.
He has great plans for his project, and for his future! He summed it up best when he wrote, “Whether flying above the clouds or planting seedlings, my aim is the same: to use science and tech to make our shared universe, starting with Earth, more understandable and equitable for everyone.”
Incredible work, Fowwaz! I’m certain this project has been an incredible asset and blessing to the lives of everyone who has been involved in any way, especially to those who have benefited from the harvests. Thank you for sharing your talents and ideas with your community. We are proud to include you on our list of scholarship recipients for our 2025 Build A Better Future Scholarship!
Remember when you were younger and you used to think about what life would look like after you graduated high school? You’d dream about setting up your college dorm, hanging out with your roommates, and living your best college life. You could hardly wait for the day to come! It seemed like you’d be stuck in high school for ever, but looking back now, it went by in the blink of an eye. And that day you so anxiously anticipated? It’s almost here. In fact, reality might be starting to set in as you get closer to your first day of college. It’s new and exciting, but also maybe a little bit scary. And that’s okay. You’ve never done this before, so of course there are going to be some hesitations and uncertainties.
But you know what? You can do this! You’ve got lots of people cheering you on and wanting you to succeed. Everyone’s college experience will be different and unique to them, but somewhere along the way, everyone needs help figuring out this new stage of life. Here are a few tips I wish I would have known before starting college!
1- It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to major in!
Start with your generals, and maybe take a class or two that focus on a couple of areas of study you are leaning toward. It’s also okay to switch your major part way through your schooling. I went into college thinking I wanted to be an elementary or early childhood educator, then switched to nursing, and then, ultimately, I decided secondary education was the best fit for me. Did it take me a tad longer to get through my degree because of that? Yep. But I don’t regret it one bit; I graduated knowing that I was getting a degree in what I wanted. I had explored other options, realized they weren’t for me, and found what was.
2- Learn how to manage your time.
You’re an adult now— you’ve got to figure out a time management system that works for you. If you need to get a planner to organize assignments, study times, and social events, then get a planner. If you know you study best in the morning, make sure to set aside time for that. If you get going along and discover that something isn’t working for you, make adjustments as needed. Make sure you are getting enough sleep so that your mind is clear and ready to learn and focus. Balancing school, work, social, and other life responsibilities can be tricky. Be sure to prioritize what you need to and fill in the remainder of your time with the rest. But one thing is sure— don’t forget to schedule time for some self care and fun. You’ll burn yourself out if you hide away and only do school work. Your studies are important, but so are you— take time to take care of yourself!
3- Create a support system.
This is especially important if you have moved away from home to attend college. Find yourself a group of people who can support you and help you. You might have different groups for different needs— perhaps you will find one group of friends from within your major, and you all study together and help each other learn the content. Maybe you will find friends who are your go-tos during down time and fun times. Whatever the case may be, make sure you have people to lean on, and equally as important, make sure that you are that person for someone else!
4- Have fun!
College is such a fun time of life. You have the chance to meet so many new and interesting people. Invest in relationships that will last a lifetime. Set boundaries for yourself and make sure you are safe in all the ways. Take time to slow down and relax when you can. Don’t be so focused on school that you forget how beautiful life is. Maintain your hobbies the best you can, and cultivate friendships with people you can do those hobbies with. Figure out who you are and where you stand with important political, social, and ethical issues. Get out and explore the area around you. Remember that your experience is what you make it— so make it a good one!
This is an exciting time of life for so many reasons. Take the chance, make the memories, and do your best— life is so much richer if you do!
