Category: motivation
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A New Age of Discoveries?
“Yesterday, I felt sad”, confided more than one of my students today. Another student confessed that she had been bedridden with exhaustion and a debilitating sinus infection migraine. I was sick, too, on the weekend and the press conference of Monday announcing stricter public health security measures did nothing to assuage the vague sensation of […]
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JUST a teacher?!
I believe… the teacher-student relationship is sacred, based on trust, authenticity, acceptance and patience; each class is a sacred encounter where, when the magic of connection occurs, the miracle and wonder of learning take place; subject matter, the topics of class discussion and exchange, are sacred since they are key in enabling the student to […]
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Clarity in confinement?
It’s important to say things as they are. Love is the opposite of avoidance. And so, it is important to be able to say things as they are, beginning with our fears. (Boris Sirbey) I read that piece of wisdom this morning in a LinkedIn article entitled Le hamster épris de ciel bleu (The Hamster […]
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An ESL Teacher in Quarantine
I didn’t see it coming. But then again, did anyone? The topic of the Covid19 came up in class. Or rather, the topic of how the company would react, preparing an emergency plan of action if an employee was found to be infected. We all thought it was perhaps exaggerated. We logged onto the WorldMeter […]
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The Call of the Open Road
“No, I don’t know what I am going to do next, but that doesn’t bother me. It’s time [to go].” A friend and I were discussing her recent discussion to leave her job. She talked about the subsequent reactions from friends and colleagues: surprise, consternation and wonder, bordering on envy. She told me she was […]
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ESL Mixologist: What’s the deal?
I am never just teaching an English class! I am on the lookout for new insights or epiphanies I may have while talking about vocab, grammar or functional language. ESL Mixologist is all about my journey as an ESL teacher who just can’t get over the serendipitous glimpses into the parallel universe of philosophy while […]
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Have you connected today?
People matter. With those two words, American psychologist, Chris Peterson, summarized his life research on how to enable people to go from surviving to thriving, discovering and pursuing what really what makes life worth living for them. In the Huffington Post Canadian edition today, publishes a video with the astounding title: The most connected generation […]
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From Arrested Development to Attested Development: 3 Simple Ways to Get Back on Track
“You come to the gym more than the average member”, the gym employee commented. “Wow! Really? Thanks for the encouragement!”, I responded, feeling dissatisfied with myself all the same. “I guess the problem”, I thought, as I drove home,” is that I’m not seeing any progress”. In fact, after a very cold winter which […]
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Need a shot of chutzpah?
I’m thinking I sure do! Chutzpah is that zingy Hebrew word that means gall, effrontery and sometimes outrageous audacity. It’s the stuff that entrepreneurs, politicians and every-day go-getters have loads of. What does it look like? How about not taking no for an answer, daring to ask why when everyone else is frozen in stunned […]
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When you’re aiming for the moon…
Beresheet may have crashed, but for a moment we raised our eyes to the heavens. The headline of the Times of Israel article (first in links below) couldn’t help but grab my attention. I wondered what the article would say about ‘raising our eyes to the heavens’ and began to read. I was so glad […]
CLAIRE MARIA FORD 