Kim, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so glad you have made it through this stressful and challenging year of teaching.  I hope you have some plans for relaxation and rejuvenation.

I must say that this has been a year of constantly reminding myself to stay flexible and stay positive. Although we were completely virtual for the first three weeks, I now only have one virtual class and the rest are face to face.  In order to keep our kids safe, they are masked and distanced, facing only the front in straight rows.  When I first became a teacher, I promised that the only time my students would sit in rows, would be during state testing.  I had grown quite dependent on flexible seating, collaborative learning, socratic seminars, etc. and with the new safety standards, I had to pivot.  

As you said, networking and sharing resources is vital to our survival and our growth as teachers.  I think my greatest concern at the beginning of our school year was the lack of connection that we have in a virtual environment and even in a masked face to face environment.  When we started the new school year, I had over 140 new faces to greet online. My focus for the first two weeks was all about relationship.  We met each other's pets, had scavenger hunts, told stories of our successes, and most of all, shared our cultures. Networking with other teachers and digital literacy folks helped me find online tools that I will use forever.  What did I ever do before Mote, Flipgrid, Edpuzzle, and Mentimeter?

My path to teaching was not at all straight.  I have been a journalist, a tech writer, and a youth director before moving to Singapore.  My time abroad changed me.  I had always been interested in other cultures, but now my friends were Australian, European, and Asian.  They were also Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Jewish.  I was surrounded by opportunities to learn by listening, and often, experiencing cultures so different from everything I had ever known.  When I lived in Asia, I was constantly in awe of my surroundings.  When I returned to the states three years later, I was eager to share the wonders of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more.  I'm sure all my friends were quite sick of hearing the words, "In Singapore, they...."  I can completely understand how that would drive them crazy.  However, I had massive culture shock when I returned home, because I no longer had the diversity of friendships in my local community.  I also found that most people didn't really care what went on outside of our country.  

It was shortly after my return home to the US that I decided to try teaching.  I had no confidence at all in my abilities, but I love a good challenge.  At first, my goal was just to help kids feel confident in themselves.  It didn't take too much time until I started seeing those sparks that only kids have.  You know what I mean?  That hope, that purity, that drive.  However, it wasn't until seven years ago, when I started teaching World Cultures ,that I could imagine how I might help them see the world as more than just the tales from their textbook.

I am so thankful for digital and real-world educational communities that keep challenging me and I am so thankful to my students, former students, and parents for their encouragement as well.  I keep a jar on my desk filled with sweet notes from kids.  When I'm having a rough day, I pull out a couple and I remember that our purpose is too important to let any obstacle get in the way.

I actually use the terms xenophobia and xenophilia quite early in the year and as we study we keep a running list of how both fear and love have affected culture around the world.  I don't have a motto for this that I use in the class, but my "magic phrase" to leave is "carpe diem."  Now you have me thinking that I need to use my love of Latin and Greek to add a motto.  I was also thinking of creating a xenophobia to xenophilia continuum in the class that we could use to mark certain historical and current events.  With the challenges of teaching this year, I have yet to make it.  I'm so thankful for your question and this reminder.

How do you consistently reinforce this in your class?  Is there a tool or motto that you use in your classroom to emphasize this concept on a regular basis?