Do you watch the TV show called the Bear? I have loved watching the show this year. For those of you who don't know about this show, it is about a dysfunctional family who decide to shut down the current restaraunt they run in order to build something better. Think swiching from a greasy spoon to a 5 Star Restaraunt! Wow! Those are some big goals.

But in many ways this is what we are doing in education today. We are trying to take a failing business and turn things around.

I spend some time sharing my thoughts on how the characters are like teachers, admin and students. But then, I dive deeper into Carmy the chef with the vision and how he tries to deal with the stress of the new place. In the end, unfortunately, he goes back to bad habits (as we do - as humans) - which is also a reflection of what happens when we let our fears and anxieties take over.

And then, I talk about the noise. There is a lot of noise in our world right now. How do we figure out what noise matters and what noise isn't helping us grow?

How do we stay true with all the noise?

I share some of my thoughts and break it down into manageable chunks:

• Know what is mandatory - what changes must I make

• Know what you value

• • Pedagogy

  • Classroom community

  • School community

  • In your personal life

• Make a commitment this year to stay present, positive and prepared

• • It will help your anxiety tremendously!

  • Lean on others who have a positive outlook about working with kids

- Above all else, drown out the noise that is contributing to our burnout.