Indianapolis, IN
Joined May 2018
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Help A Teacher retweeted
The student who raises their hand first isn't always the one who has done the most thinking.
Sometimes the student who needs another thirty seconds has something worth hearing. Sometimes the student who asks a question you weren't expecting opens the door to a better discussion.
But in a busy classroom, it's easy to call on the same students, move past an unexpected answer, or rush to the next part of the lesson.
And students notice.
They notice when you give someone time to think instead of jumping in with the answer. They notice when you admit you're unsure about something. They notice whether their ideas lead to a conversation or simply get acknowledged before everyone moves on.
None of this means teachers need to respond perfectly every time. You're managing an entire classroom, working within limited time, and making countless decisions throughout the day.
But small instructional choices can send powerful messages about whose thinking matters.
Sometimes it's as simple as asking, "Can you tell me more about how you got there?"
Or giving students another minute before calling on someone.
Or returning to a student's idea later because you didn't have time to explore it earlier.
Students are learning the content we teach. They're also learning what it feels like to be a learner in our classrooms.
Both deserve our attention.
Help A Teacher retweeted
A parent sends an email at 8:47 p.m. You see the notification while you're making dinner, and suddenly you're thinking about how to respond instead of being present at home.
You can care deeply about a student without being available every hour of the day.
For routine questions, a clear response window helps families know what to expect. It also gives teachers permission to put their phones down without wondering whether they're letting someone down.
School leaders have a role here, too. If teachers are expected to maintain boundaries, schools need shared communication expectations and a clear process for genuinely urgent situations.
Being responsive matters. Being reachable around the clock shouldn't be the standard.
ALT Brad Weinstein graphic reading, “Being there for your students should not mean being unavailable for your own life.” “Being there” appears in orange and “your own life” in hot pink. A small classroom doorway opens onto a winding path of cream, teal, orange, and pink against textured navy.
Help A Teacher retweeted
Accountability should ask more of students than simply taking a consequence.
If someone was hurt, trust was damaged, or a classroom was disrupted, the work is not finished when the punishment ends. Students need to learn how to acknowledge what happened, understand the impact, and take a real step toward making things right.
A consequence can stop a behavior for the moment. Repair teaches what responsibility looks like afterward.
ALT Dark navy graphic reads, “If we want kids to own their mistakes, we must teach them how to repair the harm they cause, not just punish them and hope they figure it out.” A repaired wooden student desk appears on the right.
Help A Teacher retweeted
Some of the most powerful teaching starts with a decision: I’m not going to decide what this student is capable of before they get the chance to show me.
That might mean giving another try after a rough first attempt, finding a different way into the material, or holding onto high expectations when progress is slower than anyone hoped.
Students notice when an educator truly believes there is more in them.
Sometimes that belief is exactly what helps them begin to see it too.
ALT Graphic reads, “Never underestimate the teacher who refuses to underestimate a student.” Cream background with bold navy, teal, and orange typography and textured abstract accents. Brad Weinstein and @WeinsteinEdu appear at the bottom.
Help A Teacher retweeted
Students need to know that care and accountability can exist in the same conversation.
“I care about you” does not mean ignoring the behavior. And “this needs to change” does not mean withdrawing connection the moment a student makes a mistake.
We can address the impact, hold the boundary, and still make it clear that the relationship is intact.
That matters because correction lands differently when students know they are not being rejected along with the behavior.
The goal is not to make accountability softer.
It is to make it more useful.
Students should leave a hard conversation understanding both the expectation and this message:
You still matter here. And you are still responsible for what happens next.
Help A Teacher retweeted
A new school year should not begin with a student having to prove they are more than the hardest moments from last year.
History can give us useful context, but it should not become a label we hand a student on day one.
Kids grow. Circumstances change. Relationships change. Sometimes the student who struggled most last year needs one adult who is willing to meet the person standing in front of them now instead of the reputation that arrived first.
A fresh start does not mean ignoring patterns, lowering expectations, or removing accountability.
It means leaving room for growth.
Every student deserves the chance to walk into a new year believing their past does not get to decide what happens next.
Help A Teacher retweeted
Students rarely remember every direction, activity, or assignment. They do remember how the adults around them responded when plans fell apart.
Did we blame, pause, repair, listen, or try again?
Those moments become part of the lesson because students are learning how to handle pressure, mistakes, conflict, and uncertainty by watching us navigate them first.
What is one lesson you hope students learn from the way you show up each day?
ALT Dark navy distressed graphic says some lasting lessons are never written on the board. It explains that what students watch adults do becomes part of who they learn to be. A blank classroom chalkboard appears beside the quote, credited to Brad Weinstein.
Help A Teacher retweeted
The first day of school moves quickly. The photo lasts much longer. 📸
In our newest TeacherGoals newsletter, we're sharing an easy way to preserve those first-day memories, plus where to download our FREE Back to School 2026-2027 printable signs for every grade from preschool through senior year. 🎒
Get the signs: open.substack.com/pub/teache…
Help A Teacher retweeted
Not every lesson lands in the moment.
Sometimes students are not ready to hear the reminder, accept the boundary, or understand why you are holding them accountable. That does not mean your words were wasted.
The message may come back to them later, when they have more perspective and are finally ready to use it. Keep teaching. Keep planting seeds. 🌱
What is something a former student understood long after leaving your classroom?
ALT Dark navy textured graphic with distressed cream and orange text about being unable to force someone to receive a message but never underestimating the power of planting a seed. A small sprout grows beside worn classroom notebooks.
Help A Teacher retweeted
A student’s past behavior should inform support, not become a permanent label.
A new school year gives educators an opportunity to reset relationships while still maintaining clear expectations and appropriate accountability. Students should have the chance to demonstrate growth without feeling that one difficult chapter has already determined how every adult will see them.
A fresh start does not ignore what happened. It recognizes that accountability should lead somewhere.
How do you create a meaningful reset with a student while still honoring responsibility and repair?
Help A Teacher retweeted
Some of the strongest connections in education start with recognizing the experiences no job description ever mentions.
Shared laughter about the small, strange, and completely relatable parts of teaching can build community, ease isolation, and remind educators that they are not the only ones figuring it out as they go.
ALT Colorful chalkboard-style checklist titled “Never Have I Ever: Teacher Edition” with 20 humorous teacher experiences. Readers earn one point for each completed item and compare scores from “Still warming up” to “Veteran status unlocked.”
Help A Teacher retweeted
There is a very specific kind of professional development that only happens when you work with students.
No workshop prepares you for the moment an entire classroom starts repeating the same phrase, everyone understands the reference except you, and you suddenly realize the language has changed again.
Educators do far more than teach content. They constantly learn the culture, humor, language, and trends shaping the students in front of them, often in real time.
What student phrase or trend defined this school year for you?
Help A Teacher retweeted
I had a great time presenting to a packed house in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, about discipline practices!
One point I emphasized is that all students need love, but loving them must include holding them accountable for behaviors--in a restorative way!
🔗 bradweinstein.substack.com
Help A Teacher retweeted
Have you check out PETER O'METER yet?
🤖 bit.ly/PETERseries
-an augmented reality children's book about a robot who becomes eMotional when his buttons are pushed.
