The most effective teachers, like the most effective students, are lifelong learners. While  many schools require educators to have ongoing training and professional development, many educators can craft their own learning experiences just like the most motivated and active students.  Teachers like this provide a model for students of vibrancy, imagination, and active learning; they  prove to all of us that learning doesn’t end with a certificate or degree.

Traditional professional development can be more nebulous than it appears. Some teachers work in environments that have outdated curricula that are as unwavering as the brick-and-mortar institutions they teach in. Other teachers may be in a district that’s completely overhauled the curriculum and left the teacher instructing from entirely new material. Throw in the fact that new advancements in technology, student trends, and education dos-and-don’ts will continue to surface daily, and it can be hard for the already overworked teacher to find time, reason, or the appropriate resources to change their challenging teaching routine.

That being said, making change a staple of your teaching style should do more than fulfill your school’s requirements of you. Changing your routine accomplishes these two things for starters:

• What skills can you learn this summer that would make you a more effective teacher? Every teacher’s answers will be different, but could include listening, organization, availability, media literacy, or allowing more personal time during the work week.  Think about the books you want to read this summer which will enrich and expand your mind.  Some that I recommend are:  IMAGINE, by Jonah Lehrer,  THE 10x Rule:  The Only Difference Between Success and Failure  and ALONE TOGETHER: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other.
• What professional development training can you have over the summer, or look forward to in the next school year? Use the summer months to find a professional development training that aligns with your personal and professional goals.  Sign up to attend a local Ted Talk or download a podcast that interests you, like THIS AMERICAN LIFE.
• How can becoming an academic coach help you become a better teacher? Academic Coaches help students arrive at their own answers through asking a series of powerful questions, which can greatly change the classroom dynamic as well as the way teachers interact in their own lives. When teachers don’t give students the answer, students ultimately learn how to coach themselves by use of powerful questions to get through scenarios in school, career, and life. LifeBound’s Academic Coaching Training dates in Summer 2012 are  June 18,19, 20 and July 23, 24, 25. 
• How can you strengthen your digital skills? There’s always room for growth in the digital arena. This summer you might get more familiar with social media by creating a Twitter account and following the hashtag #edchat for classroom insights from educators around the world. You could also take a community or online class to gain skills in blogging, digital photography, photoshop, digital design, Word Processing, and more.  Or, hire one of your best digital students to teach you and your friends skills.  You will learn a lot and your student will get some great entrepreneurial training experience.

Change can open new opportunities that you never knew possible. Consider using your free months to relax, explore, and set goals that inspire change, personally and professionally. You will return to school in the fall invigorated, with many new dendrites and the passion which can inspire even the most apathetic students. Beyond that, you will have nurtured and restored yourself in ways that will last all year as you transform young minds into tomorrow’s chemists, lawyers, mechanics, doctors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and, because of your impact, twenty-first century teachers.

The school year is coming to an end, and that means some students will be advancing to another grade, others will be going into college, and others will be graduating into the workforce. Whether you are a student, educator, or parent, there is one word that can help you and yours make a successful transition into the summer and the new year: grit.

Grit is the follow-through we all need to succeed. Professionals need grit to get through a busy week at the office, take classes on the side to improve their skills, network with those who can help them, volunteer for worthy  causes, look for a new job, and find balance in life.  Students need it to find the intrinsic motivation to keep studying, deal with friends, stand up to bullies, keep going in the face of disappointments, defy the odds, and follow their dreams.

Kim Gilmer, Esq., recalls her days of training for a triathlon in her article “Getting Grit.” She invested hours into running, cycling, and swimming to fulfill her goal of completing a triahlon, and in the end, she had many bumps and bruises, but her biggest transformation came from pushing her boundaries, both physically and mentally.

In Kim’s triathlon example, her journey of getting to the finish line implies great metaphoric significance for achieving other dreams in her life. However, grit is also a practical skill that can change academic, personal, and professional lives. Richard Rusczyk is a former Math Olympiad winner who believes he knows why a staggering amount of students who enter college with the intention of pursuing a STEM career change their major, according to the article “Does Our Approach to Teaching Math Fail Even the Smartest Kids?“

Rusczyk went to an average public school that didn’t offer many advanced math classes, which lead him to joining math clubs and competitions in K-12 to challenge him. When he arrived at Princeton, he was surprised to see his peers — some of which attended prestigious high schools — struggle and give up in their math classes. In fact, according to the article, what he witnessed wasn’t rare. STEM attrition rates are higher in selective schools compared to public schools.

Where is the disconnect? Rusczyk says: “They were taught [math] is a set of facts, not a process.” When his classmates didn’t get 100 percent on a test, they thought they had failed and moved onto another major, whereas Rusczyk was familiar with the unpredictable nature of math from his competitions. “…Math required more than rote learning — it required creativity, grit, and strenuous mental gymnastics.”

As you enter the summer, ask yourself how you can live with more grit. How could grit help you train for a summer  race, teach a non-native speaker English, finish the last few weeks of school strong, or be more focused at work? How is messiness related to grit?  How willing are you to live in the mess that it takes to create and see things through to a fulfilling conclusion?  How willing are you to dig deeply and earnestly to challenge yourself in order to discover your own “true” grit?

Most people travel during the summer. Some will head to foreign lands like Nepal, Peru or Tanzania while others will stay close to home for financial or other reasons. If you are staying in America this summer, there are many ways you can bring the world to you. Here are some suggestions:

1.) Visit your local museum. Summer is often a time of special tours at your local museum. Exhibits allow you to learn and explore other cultures, countries and times in history.

2.) Visit a cultural neighborhood. Many cities have neighborhoods that are known for their ethnic and cultural crafts, foods and special attractions. Often in the summer, neighborhoods will feature a special event or an entire weekend like Cinco de Mayo or Celebrate Africa.

3.) Try a new type of dancing. Have you ever been tango dancing? As you listen to the music, you can almost feel yourself in the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires where tango dancing was born. How about salsa dancing? How about Celtic dancing? If you don’t like to dance, you can certainly go watch people who do this well. It is awe-inspiring.

4.) Go to some ethnic restaurants. Have you ever eaten Morrocan food with your fingers and had your hands washed for you by the waiter at the table? Ever tasted the wine they serve in Ethopian restaurants? Have you had fresh tabouli and couscous at Mediteranean restraurants? Have you had the spinikoutpita at a Greek restaurant? It is fascinating and you will gain global experience!

5.) Host foreign students in your home. There are many opportunities to host foreign exchange students in your home through Up With People, AFS or any
other organization which works with foreign exchange students at the high school and college age. This is a great way to share your hospitality and learn first-hand about their culture and life.

6.) Go to a Lecture. Many libraries and museums feature summer lecture series from people who have been to interesting, though oft-thought of places. You can hear about a climb to K2 in Pakistan. You can listen to the details of excavating for 4,000 year old clues to life in ancient Egypt. You can discover what it is like to go diving off the coast of Kuala Lumpur in Asia.

7.) Read. Whether you get a subscription to National Geographic or read one of Michner’s classics, you can travel in depth in one country or get a sense of many countries without leaving your arm chair. Many novels and non-fiction books capture the heart and soul of people in countries around the world.

8.) Volunteer. Many wonderful global organizations like World Wild Life and
Habitat for Humanity work world wide to bring consciousness and relief to animals and low income people, respectively. You can join their local affiliates and meet people who have traveled the world and are now working here in the states.

There are many ways to experience the richness and the splendor that the world has to offer. Enjoy and have fun!