Remembering Robin Williams, a Great Icon [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Like most of us, I was stunned to hear the news of beloved actor, Robin Williams untimely passing. It was a reminder to me that […]
Posted inFeatured
Piles of Supplies
The lines in Target weren’t long yesterday but they were slow. Each queue had at least one shopping cart with thirty spiral notebooks, three packages of pencils, a half dozen packs of notebook paper, a stack of solid colored folders, and boxes of crayons, pens, and markers. I am intimately familiar with these items. They […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, From the Front Lines, Parents
It's August: Better to Get to Work on those Summer Work Packets!
“Ancora imparo. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][I am still learning.]“ ― Michelangelo, at age 87 in 1562 In the United States, students will spend 96 weeks or collectively about two years of their academic life in summer vacation […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Uncategorized
Freedom In The Classroom
Owning a school may sound like an easy way to avoid all of the messy paperwork associated with education, but it really means that the paperwork just changes routes. Instead of serving the district or the State Department, I am accountable to a higher entity: parents and families. Summers are spent not only writing lesson […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Interviews, Stellar Educator of the Week, Technology
Inspirational Educator – Garrett Lim, All-Star Teacher
Every teacher wants to be called an all-star, but not many get the trophy to match. Garrett Lim is one of those honored few teachers to be recognized by Major League Baseball as an All-Star, as he was the Chicago White Sox’s selection to the 2014 All-Star contest. We sat down with Garrett to watch […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
The Traveling Teacher: Rochester, NY
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] First Philly. Then Denver. Then Montana. And now Rochester, NY – home to the Erie Canal, The Underground Railroad, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and the beacon of the mid-19th century […]
Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics, Uncategorized
The Difference Between Calculation and Mathematics
This piece originally ran on Bluffcityed.com on July 29, 2014; In mid-July last year, I was ready to try something completely different. I had previously taught Algebra I, but I was moving to a new content; geometry. I’d taught it before under the old Tennessee state standards but had left the course feeling like the kids […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Four Little Tips to Transform Your Classroom
This post was featured on Classroom Chronicle on Wednesday, July 23rd 2014 Another school year is almost upon us! Along with content, systems and management planning, thinking strategically about how you set up your classroom this year will boost student engagement and success all year long. How does classroom set up do this, you ask? […]