When you think of the month of March, what comes to mind?   The color of green and all the fun festivities set for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday? The nearing and long-awaited Spring season as well as Spring break?  Or, if you are a Reader – big or small, parent or non-parent, you may get excited about March 2 each year!  Yes, it’s true! Many individuals across the world celebrate Theodor Seuss Gisel aka Dr. Seuss’s birthday!

TeacherTalk: Keeping Kids Healthy, No Matter What

In collaboration with SHAPE America

Thursday, February 25th, 2021, 4 PM EST (A recording will be made available to registrants)   Getting the right amount of physical activity can help students stay healthy, but that’s not the only benefit. Exercise can help students regulate their emotions, develop coping skills, and ultimately, stay focused in the classroom. In this TeacherTalk, you’ll be hearing from a group of fellow educators on how you can incorporate physical activity in your instruction, even during remote learning.  

This is part of a series of posts from nominees for our LifeChanger of the Year educator recognition program. We meet scores of fascinating LifeChangers every year who have interesting perspectives to share about children, education and life.

The LifeChanger of the Year program recently invited some of us who are nominees for the annual reward to write an essay about how we use technology in the classroom. I initially thought that was beyond my skill set. But I challenged myself to offer my thoughts with the hope that other educators will gain an idea or two about how and when to use technology. Or maybe these thoughts will cause you to step back and think about how you approach technology in your classroom in these very difficult times.

This is part of a series of posts from nominees for our LifeChanger of the Year educator recognition program. We meet scores of fascinating LifeChangers every year who have interesting perspectives to share about children, education and life.

As February hit, my first graders were thrilled to show off their knowledge of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks and Barack Obama. They figured this year they’d be working on traditional coloring pages and sitting through mini history lessons that they’d soon be expected to recite. While those things can be super engaging and insightful I wanted to pose a unique challenge to my students, so I designed a presentation evaluating several freedom fighters who’ve contributed to change. After the presentation and a small chat when the presentation ended, I asked my students to pick an issue in society or in school that they would be the face of change for.

We are Here for Good.

Those three words carry a big message.

They signal our longevity, our resiliency, our commitment to do good, and our deep belief in the strength of servant leadership.

At National Life we love the power of three. We love to keep things simple. Our three core values are Do Good, Be Good, Make Good. Those three values and six words pack a real punch and keep us focused on Due North. They’re so important to us that they’re inscribed in marble in our company’s lobby.

Planning for retirement is mostly focused on the need for consistent, lifelong income. But comprehensive planning should also include protecting financial assets. The loss of a spouse can significantly affect the surviving spouse’s ability to retire. In addition, a significant medical event can diminish unprotected assets and the cost of a chronic or critical illness can devastate any retirement plan.

Join us for a free learning series on what it means to be a school leader.

When you think of someone who’s a great leader, who comes to mind?

Probably someone with a strong vision and the confidence to make that vision come to life, right? There’s more to it than that.

This year is, without a doubt, a year of many firsts and a year of reflection. Everything I normally do as a teacher has had to be modified or deleted. But one thing for sure I have tried not to change is the impact I have on my students. Being an inspiring and impactful educator is why I chose the teaching profession.

The pandemic has been a wake-up call for many to reevaluate their finances, according to a recent Life Happens survey. And for women, especially working mothers—the pandemic has delivered an extra punch of career stress.

The average teacher spent $745 out of pocket last year to buy school supplies for their classroom.

And now that the definition of “school supplies” includes industrial-size hand sanitizer, personal chromebooks, and Internet hotspots…well, it adds up fast.

This holiday season, we want to make a difference where the need is greatest. That’s why we’re proud to support AdoptAClassroom.org’s COVID-19 Relief Fund for Teachers and Students, which goes directly to classrooms most vulnerable to budget shortfalls and lack of technology and PPE this year.