Dr. Hester's Blog

If you’ve read my bio, you know that I’ve been a teacher, led a teacher training program, and that I’m now in grad school. But what am I...

Here’s the basic idea that underlies all I’m trying to do with New Teachers Thriving: Happy and healthy teachers are more likely to...

During my first months as a teacher, I regularly felt miserable, overwhelmed, and full of self-doubt. When I woke up in the morning, I often felt a sense of dread. Would I be handle the challenges that the day would bring? Driving to school, I listened to talk radio rather than music. The reason: music would have provoked emotions. And I couldn’t risk bringing up emotions. At lunch in the staff lounge, my colleagues would chit-chat cheerfully with one another. Meanwhile, I would be sinking...

I started crying just after the waitress dropped off the pancakes. It was October of my first year of teaching, and my mom had come to...