Banner of a Zoom screen with caption "Low-Tech Zoom Success"

Low-Tech, Low-Prep Success with Zoom—new mini-course!

Having heard from lots of people with both thanks and follow-up questions on various presentations I’ve done about using Zoom as a teacher, I decided to make a little course in 10 bite-sized modules—under 10 minutes each—to share my experience and tips for getting a ton out of Zoom without needing to learn any other […]

Banner with Justin Slocum Bailey and text "You Can't Out-Candice Candice (Mantra 25"

You Can’t Out-Candice Candice, Sane Saturday, + more!

In this post: 1. You Can’t Out-Candice Candice (reflection+video) 2. Sane Saturday (May 9), a perfect mix of relaxation, camaraderie, and PD 3. Low Prep | High Success online workshop (Saturday, May 16)   You Can’t Out-Candice Candice The summer between when I was hired to create a Latin program at a school in Los […]

Justin Slocum Bailey listening to the waves on a rocky beach in Boston

3 Mantras for Calm Presence in the Classroom

How students perceive our presence in the classroom has a huge impact on everything from their trust in us to their ability to learn efficiently. This is partly due to mirror neurons and partly because how we feel (or act like we feel) affects our communication, our enthusiasm, our attention to students’ needs, and even […]

Introducing: Tuned-In Teacher Mantras

Both during my summer travels and in online teacher communities a recent pattern has stood out: anxiety for the new school year, often in spite of—or perhaps because of—extensive prior experience. Others experiencing anxiety are new to the profession or, like you, are boldly trying new ways of teaching. I identify so strongly with this […]

1 Like 1 Answer – ‘We Teach Languages’ Edition

Dr. Stacey Margarita Johnson of the We Teach Languages podcast recently kickstarted this fun, instructive, community-building game, “1 Like 1 Answer.” For this post, I thought I would simply share my responses without comment (but with links added!). Feel free to join the discussion in the comments section below or on Twitter, and to let […]

My Outfits Are Ready for ACTFL

Are you? Tomorrow I head to New Orleans to join old and new friends in the CI Posse, a growing group of twenty-odd teachers and content creators working together to boost joy and success at ACTFL 2018 and beyond. If you haven’t discovered it yet, check out the CI Posse blog, which includes my “Why […]

Your Teaching Body, pt 2: Movement & Posture

Your movement and posture can set the tone of your teaching without your changing anything else. If the post on body location and variation felt a tad intricate, I bet you’ll find this one simple, practical, and encouraging! (This post is the fourth in a series on tricks and techniques that observers in my classes at this […]