I was doing a Facebook Live not too long ago, and at the end as I was trying to convey to teachers watching that I too am a teacher, working for myself now, reaching out to teachers with my message of teacher sustainability, and I caught myself saying “I’m just a teacher.”  And although I meant it in an endearing, relatable way, it still didn’t sit well with me that the word “just” wanted to creep in there.

Adding the word “just” means I’m nothing  more than, or I could’ve done more with my life, but instead I’m “just” a teacher.

Have you ever caught yourself saying this or something like this?  Maybe in a circle of friends who aren’t teachers?

Or how about this common saying, “Those who can, do.  Those who can’t, teach.”

Now, that’s just a saying, but it’s one we’ve all heard, and I’m sure had aimed at us in some way before even if it...

I've been thinking about how to go about writing this post for some time now.  And here's why.  I am huge believer in the power of the culture of your classroom.  I believe it is the undercurrent of every single classroom, contributed to by every facet of the classroom, and does not overlook anyone in the room with its impact.

In the flipped classroom, it is imperative - and this is the main takeaway I want you to get - I'll say it again, IMPERATIVE that you as the teacher spend time consciously thinking about and anticipating your flipped classroom culture.  You'll see what I mean by this as you get deeper into this post, but to quickly show the significance here I'll say that you don't want to do all this work in flipping your classroom just to have a traditional classroom culture that sabotages all that work you've done.

The good news is that it's largely in your control.  The not so good news is that, well, it can totally sabotage all this hard work...