To my new favorite student, Although I enjoyed my #TERSchoolFreeSummer, words can’t describe how I feel about meeting you and getting to know you this year. I want you to know that things won’t always be perfect. I won’t always be nice and bubbly. Sometimes, you may get the sour side, like a Sour Patch […]
Posted inProfessional Development
Veteran Teachers Need Choice & Customized Professional Development
I completed 13 years as an educator when I wrapped up last school year. I don’t know exactly what year this took place, but at some point, I crossed over to being labeled a veteran educator. When you are considered a veteran educator, colleagues begin to view you as an expert in your craft and […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, High School, History
The Summer School Diaries
Six in the morning is early for any faculty meeting, especially on the Monday after the July 4th holiday, but I was told to report to the library in a large high school I have only driven past. Hired over the phone, I wonder what kind of Gong Show I am attending. Is my employment […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Boutique Schools Of Our Future
This past week I spent a few days at Northeastern University for a doctoral residency in the program I’m currently studying under. Part of this experience was spending a day interacting with the NExT community: A group of schools dedicated to Innovation and experiential learning as part of their mission. I learned about programs such […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
“SHOCKING STUDY: 40% of Modern Men & Women Are Unhappy. Here’s How Teachers Can Help”
Western men and women aren’t very happy with their lives. In fact, four out of ten adults regret the lives they have lived thus far. I’ll admit, I typically read these research papers and polling surveys with pronounced skepticism. Modern westerners often possess a hypochondriac disposition, forever focusing on what is lacking in life instead […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Students Don’t Have to Read a Novel to Read
If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book. -J.K. Rowling This infamous J.K. Rowling quote is often used with reluctant readers who feel that they “hate reading.” And what do we do as teachers? With great intentions, we work to help them find just the right book that will cure […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Alternative Seating: Another Support
When most of us think of a classroom, we think of the traditional setup: several rows of desks all facing a blackboard, projector, or whiteboard. If we’re really being daring, those desks might be in pods, or in stadium-style rows. Sometimes, we have…tables! But there is a new trend that has come back around recently, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Marie Kando Your Classroom
What brought you joy last school year? That is a question teachers should ask themselves as they begin to prepare classrooms for the new school year. As they open those boxes that were stored over the summer, teachers might consider what lessons can be learned from the decluttering guru Marie Kando? More than likely, those […]