Hello overworked tired teachers! (and also those few of you who are happy energetic and completely caught up):

Kindergarten teacher Kory Graham (@tritonkory)  taught me that October is when the groove begins and the craziness of the begining of the year finally slows down to a dull roar.  If you are overwhelmed it will get better soon! Some of these links might even help that along:

Last week I threw a lot of links out there at you so this week I have just rounded up a few highlights. Feel free to catch up on last week's links by scrolling through these 3 blog pages below:

This week's Piedmont PD posts include a community PD offering this coming Tuesday to add to the last week's link to the new Discovery Place resource center for teachers! I also just heard Discovery Place is free on Saturdays for teachers so look into this!

This week's lesson ideas page include a video playlist to help students develop growth mindset. One video of Austin's butterfly is a good way to make learning visible and in doing so reinforce growth mindset grit and effort in your students. (I can't believe I just said grit!)

This week's Celebrating Piedmont blog includes Ms. Barone's trip to jail, inspiration to use your best teaching gifts from the encore team's example, and more.  I am a big fan of using one's strengths as the way to minimize weaknesses and I believe it is the reason for Piedmont's success- we use people where they work best. 
If you aren't sure what your best teaching strengths are, here is a great link via Keely Shannon @keelybshannon on Twitter)  that includes a quiz so you can find out.  http://www.weareteachers.com/hot-topics/special-reports/teach-to-your-strengths

Have a great weekend and remember you are amazing just as you are right now!  You are changing the world every day with the smallest act of kindness you can show to anyone you meet. For example, you can smile at a child who's having a bad day and turn their entire day around, their entire attitude about school, and that will ripple out to everyone else that child encounters.  Our jobs are amazingly important like that. (Thanks to Josh Gauthier @mrgfactoftheday for that reminder)

Here are some links if you want to think big thoughts about education.

Big thoughts about Grading
-What do your grades represent? Here are the latest in teh conversation raging about standards based, mastery, the failure of averages and percents.

How Did You Learn How to Learn
-Howard Garnder, multiple intelligences (not learning styles) and the failures of intuition.

Big Thoughts about Privilege
Goes to a short Google Doc with resources for thinking about and discussing race as it relates to education. really interesting quotes. Conversation welcome. More on race here.