Blog

You are not alone. This last semester was the most difficult semester I’ve encountered in my teaching career, which explains why I haven’t written in my blog in a long time. But recently I have been researching the issue and visiting a couple of places and talking with faculty about burnout. Here’s the bad news:

Hello fellow educators! Sooooooo, I happen to know for a fact that some of you just turned in your fall semester grades. And that you feel guilty about it because you missed the deadline. And that you are exhausted to the core. And that you are already thinking about next semester. STOP. RIGHT. NOW. It

Do you need a little extra encouragement to remember why you do this crazy job? Or just some tried and true methods for building classroom community or handling email? Then enroll today! Want a discount code? Please send me an email at christinabieberlake (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll give you 50% off if you

At least for educators it is. Why? It’s because spring break wasn’t nearly long enough, and the finish line is still so far away. So what can we do to get that last burst of energy needed to get to the end? Here’s my primary suggestion: double down on getting enough rest for yourself. I

I was so honored to talk with the InterVarsity gathering for women in the academy and professions about The Flourishing Teacher. If you want a sense of what the book or the group is about, you can listen here. And as always, Keep Calm and Teach On!

As the semester begins, most of us are doing the majority of our classes via Zoom. For some of us, it’s an old friend (I don’t have to get dressed and drive anywhere! Sweat pants!), for others, it’s drudgery and makes us long for an early retirement. But one thing I know for sure: it’s

It’s finally here! After spending most of the break updating and providing new content for you all, I’m happy to announce that the Spring Retreat and Master Class is ready for enrollment. There are a couple of completely new sections, including Getting Things Done for Academics and How to Re-think your assignments. Enroll for 25%

It’s December, so I know that we are all grading, grading, grading right now. Because I am. But while COVID presents challenges it also presents opportunities: at this moment I’m delivering my final exam to my students across the country, while I’m in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, where I’m on my annual writing group retreat.

Sometimes you just have to teach off script. Here’s why. I’ve been teaching American literature for over 25 years, and it enables me to raise all kinds of issue of central importance today, including our persistent failure to move beyond the racist attitudes present at the founding of the United States. But sometimes we need

As some of you know, I use my first two weeks of classes to schedule face-to-face meetings with individual students in my classes so that I can get to know them better. This is one of my top strategies for increasing participation in class, and it really works. But this week I had a first

I’ve been working all summer on this retreat, so I’m so excited to finally make it available. If you are anxious about the start of the school year and need a vocational renewal, this retreat is for you! I extended the work I did on my book to provide strategies for success with Zoom, as

The inevitable has happened around here–the Queen Anne’s Lace is in full bloom, often beautifully interlaced with bright blue chicory flowers. To me this means that the start of classes is right around the corner. Of course, because of the ‘Rona this semester is a bit more difficult and anxiety-provoking than most, but I maintain

True confessions: I haven’t completed my book order yet for fall 2020. Yes, I’m one of those faculty members. I just found out that I have to comply this week so I will. Reluctantly. But here’s what I’m not doing right now. I’m not prepping my classes, adjusting my syllabi, and definitely not thinking about

Just one question: in your classes, who does more work—you, or your students?