Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

TR’s Birthday Message to America’s Youth: “Get in the Arena of Life” and “Never Expect Things to be Easy”

Happy 160th Birthday to President Theodore Roosevelt. The most famous speech Roosevelt ever delivered is one that should be etched into the mind of every American student. Why? Because his particular brand of wisdom is one that is desperately needed by an American citizenry that often finds itself hopelessly adrift. For young people asking themselves […]

Posted inOpinion

Rat Infestations, Permanent Voice Damage, & Grieving In the Classroom : Reflections on the Absolute WORST YEAR of My Teaching Career

This has been the absolute worst year of my teaching career. By far . . . It started too early—much too early. Our teacher meetings began on August 14th. Whatever, you may ask fellow teachers, ever happened to the Tuesday after Labor Day serving as the year’s genesis? Anyone who has spent any time in […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum

Turning The Page on Tragedy

My close friend and long-time colleague, Michelle, died three weeks ago. She was only forty years old. We shared thousands and thousands of students together over the past eighteen years. Her classroom is on the same floor as mine, just around the corner. We coached speech and debate together in our early twenties, created an […]