Hooray For Monday

What would it take for every child to be excited for school on Monday mornings?

Hooray for Monday is a weekly award-winning collection of resources for educators, parents, and all adults committed to creating a better learning experience. Featuring questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students, Hooray for Monday challenges teachers to hone their skills as Instigators of Thought©; includes instructional ideas from our #Inspired2Learn collection; and provides links to other useful tools and opportunities.

Join our mailing list to get Hooray for Monday sent straight to your inbox every week.

Sign me up!

Recent Issues: Read and Listen!

It’s National Volunteer Week | Hooray For Monday

In this week’s Hooray For Monday, Inspired Teaching shares tips for building community and creating connections with classroom volunteers.

Hospitality | Hooray For Monday

As the attendance crisis looms in our schools across the country, it behooves us to keep in mind that children, like all people, want to spend time in places where they feel welcome.

Speaking of Wide-Ranging Evidence of Learning | Hooray For Monday

In this week’s Hooray For Monday, Jenna explores Wide-Ranging Evidence of Learning through “adversarial collaboration.”

Speaking of Joy | Hooray For Monday

In this week’s Hooray For Monday, Jenna encourages us to think beyond our usual understanding of what joy can be in the classroom.

InspiredTeaching · Hooray For Monday

Read Previous Issues

Hooray For Monday Videos

Extra Moments From Our Interviews

The educators we speak with have many amazing insights, anecdotes, and advice to share — sometimes we can’t fit it all into one issue! Check out our video collection for a peek into these conversations and additional resources for educators, parents, and all adults committed to creating a better learning experience.

What's in Hooray For Monday?

Find past issues that answer questions, provide insights, offer resources for educators and parents, and more — based on the topic area of your choosing.

Improv & The Inspired Teaching Model

The ABCDE of Learner Needs Guidebook August 7, 2023
You Can’t Be Joyful Yesterday July 10, 2023
Rules of Inspired Teaching Improv June 26, 2023
Summer Resources June 5, 2023
Reflections from a First-Year Inspired Teacher May 8, 2023
Hooray for PD! May 1, 2023
To, Not, For, With April 10, 2023
We Find Connection in the Process March 27, 2023
Create Connection by Sharing Student Expertise March 13, 2023
Curiosity and School Connectedness March 6, 2023
The Urgent Need to Increase School Connectedness February 27, 2023
When the Helicopter is Going Down February 20, 2023
The Opposite of Curiosity January 30, 2023
Feeling Stirred December 26, 2022
Makeup, Space Exploration, & Politics December 12, 2022
Stirring Up Curiosity December 5, 2022
Accessing Our Strength November 21, 2022
Teaching vs. Telling November 14, 2022
Grades Don’t Provide Much Feedback October 31, 2022
Colorful Language October 17, 2022
Head or Heart October, 10, 2022
Channeling Curiosity October 3, 2022
How Far They Can Go! September 26, 202
Children Are Not Mailboxes September 19, 2022
Shifting Gears September 12, 2022
Making Good Mistakes September 5, 2022
We Learn Better When We Are Known August 29, 2022
Consuming vs. Savoring August 22, 2022
Beyond Box-Checking August 15, 2022
The Power of Might August 8, 2022
What Inspired You to Teach? August 1, 2022
100 Wonder-ful Weeks July 25, 2022
Prioritizing Fun July 18, 2022
Listening to Our Students July 4,2022
Being Intentional June 27,2022
Teaching Parents Our Secrets June 6, 2022
Resilient Children May 23, 2022
Who’s Doing the Talking? April 25, 2022
Clearing the Fog: Reflections on Joy April 18, 2022
Nobody Learns Quite Like You: Reflections on Purpose, Persistence, and Action April 11, 2022
You’ve Got This!: Reflections on Student As Expert March 28, 2022
Not Ready for Sorry: Reflections on Mutual Respect March 21, 2022
What Else Might Be Possible? March 7, 2022
Have Fun! February 21. 2022
Get Engaged February 14, 2022
The Right Kind of Challenge February 6, 2022
C ompetence January 31, 2022
We All Need Belonging January 24, 2022
You Need Autonomy January 17, 2022
What Supports You? December 27, 2021
What Makes You Smile? December 13, 2021
It’s Here! Our Toolkit for Teachers August 30, 2021
Collective Effervescence July 19, 2021
How Matters – The 4 I’s May 3, 2021
Integrity – the 4th I April 26, 2021
Imagination – the 3rd I April 19, 2021
Be Curious. Inquiry – the 2nd I April 12, 2021
Intellect – the 1st I April 5, 2021

Making Music Together December 14, 2020
Why We Sing December 7, 2020

Teachers are the most creative problems solvers on the planet. We adapt continuously to new curricula and standards; we incorporate best practices as research uncovers them; and we recalibrate lessons and strategies in real time based on our students’ changing needs and understanding.

— Aleta Margolis

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.