I have always let my kids do things and play games that I wouldn’t generally suggest for other children-but it’s with a guided purpose. In fact I encourage my children to get into those games and discover what happens when you push conventions, rules, and the boundaries of those virtual worlds. So when my daughters […]
Posted inBack to School
Small Things to Create a Great Community
At the end of last school year, after I informed my students that I would be leaving the district, they showered me with gratitude. They wrote notes; they gave speeches; they made a scrapbook; they spent money on gifts; they arranged parties with food; they collaborated with teachers and counselors to surprise me with a […]
Posted inFeatured
Proof of Civilization’s Decline? Teacher In-Services
“All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.” –Edward Gibbon Audacious barbarians at the gate do not always foretell a civilization’s decline. No, sometimes the changes are small and unspoken in a culture, manifesting themselves in the most surprising of places. Bemoaning a hollow cult of celebrity or decrying the perpetual […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Technology in the Elementary Music Classroom
Technology is an inevitable part of today’s world of education. Each week, I work to balance more traditional activities, such as playing instruments and singing songs, with technology-based instruction. Parents and students (and sometimes even other teachers) are often surprised to find that we use technology in music class. I believe using technology keeps students […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
15 Years after 9/11: Days of Infamy & Memory as History
This week was the 15th Anniversary of 9/11. It has been filled with people remembering where they were and what they saw on September 11, 2001. This ritual will most likely repeat itself for many more years to come. There is finally a memorial and a place where the event is commemorated in New York City […]
Posted inOpinion
You Probably Shouldn’t Be a Teacher If…
I can’t imagine having any other job besides that of a teacher. In fact, I think it is the greatest job in the world. But I definitely had my moments when I doubted whether or not I had made the right choice. And I think that I worked with plenty of people who had made the […]
Posted inClassroom Management
How to Avoid Teacher Burnout
One of the great pieces of advice that I received in my teaching career is that at the end of the day students should be more tired than the teacher. The other great piece of advice that I got was from a freshman in one of my classes. She said, “Why don’t you just give […]
Posted inPodcast
[Podcast S2E5] How to Create a Growth Mindset School
Introduction Welcome to Episode 5 of Season 2 of The Educator’s Room podcast! In this episode, Franchesca Warren interviews Dee Priester, from Mid-Pacific Institute in Hawaii! In the time of so-called “educational reform” the voice of the principal has been dismissed in how to make schools a growth-mindset incubator. Not anymore. With school administrators like […]