Another week, another conversation with my newly-minted teenage daughter, Lauren, who has decided that “this time,” yes, “this time I know what I want to do when I grow up.” It’s not just that Lauren has big dreams. It’s that she has so many of them. She wants to live in the mountains and hike […]
Opinion
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Parents
"I'm Looking For…" On Mispronouncing Names, A Teacher's Guide
This week on Twitter, the hashtag #growingupwithmyname has release an outpouring catharsis from people all around the world whose name is a bit… different. Whether it’s a(n): -Spelling of a name – Justin Bieber jested that “he’d be a millionaire” if he had a $1 for every time someone spelled his name wrong. -Pronunciation of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
A Chicago Teacher's Dream
The system I work in, Chicago Public Schools, is in trouble. I realize that Chicago’s education problems need a book to explain, not an article, but I will attempt to summarize it. The governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, wants CPS to declare bankruptcy. The mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, says “No-no-no!” but he has done […]
Posted inHigh School, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
That Teacher..How A Teacher Is Remembered
Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. They come from different educational backgrounds, choose to teach at different schools, and teach at different grade levels. Just like there are so many of us, there are so many “that teachers.” That teacher could be bad, just like he or she can be good. Just like there […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Opinion, The International Teacher, The Traveling Teacher
Taiwan English Teaching Assistant: Things I Learned in My First Five Months of Teaching
from Kinmen, Taiwan It is almost time for us to go on our 2 ½ week vacation for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and I wanted to share some things I learned in my first few months of teaching English in Taiwan. Think inside the box– In my first month of teaching I felt pressured to […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Instructional Strategies, Opinion
No One Wants to be ‘Managed’
Years ago I stopped presenting, coaching and even talking about ‘classroom management’. Who wants to be managed? To be ‘handled’? As an adult, I want to be led. Students want to learn and they want (yearn for) boundaries; AND they want to be led. Creating and adhering to a list of concrete rules and automatic […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, High School, Opinion
How to Survive the Last Semester of the School Year with Your Sanity Intact!
News Flash: The Winter Break is almost over. Yup. Just like that. We wait, and wait, AND WAIT all of first semester for two unadulterated weeks to experience a WHOLE lot of Netflix and chill only to remember that it was only temporary and we have been kicked to the curb yet again until the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Legal, Opinion
Friedrichs v. CTA – Supreme Court Hears a Major Education Case
Today (Monday, January 11, 2016), the Supreme Court will hear the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) in what could be a pivotal moment educators, their unions, collective bargaining, and fair share fees. In case you haven’t heard of this case, the crux of the issue is that 9 teachers in California are suing their union to […]