Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, School Improvement

Professional Development: One Step at a Time

[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”] In schools across the United States, teachers have a wealth of knowledge.  But that knowledge is not always employed to our benefit as teachers.  There are many veteran master teachers in […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Social Studies

The Case For Learning Through Experience

[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”] In 1938, education theorist John Dewey published a short volume entitled Experience and Education. In typical Dewey fashion, he begins by arguing the philosophical underpinnings of what makes experiences so valuable. […]

Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines

Surviving Teach for America: What I Learned from the Corps

[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”] As I just finished my two-year commitment with Teach for America, I cannot help but think back on this journey I have just completed.  Never in a million years did I […]

Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Principals' Corner, School Improvement

Educational Reform: It is Time for Real Change

[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”] As I get older, I see the value in the adage, “There is wisdom in numbers.” I catch myself more often than not running ideas and proposals by colleagues and friends […]

Posted inCharter Schools, High School, Middle School

The Masses, the Multitude and the Disciples (Charter School Diaries #23)

Week 6/10 – 6/14 [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”] One of the things that I really enjoy about teaching is the opportunity to work with young people, specifically the 17 and 18 year old students. These […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School, Technology

Using Technology in the English/Language Arts Classroom for "Sophisticated Responses"

The headline in The New York Times (6/13/2013) was a little misleading: “Study Gauges Value of Technology in Schools.”  The topic of gauging the value of technology is particularly significant given the investment by school districts everywhere in laptops, tablets, computer labs, Smartboards, whiteboards and projectors; but the article only referred to the use of technology in math […]

Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Parents, Special Education

Misunderstood: A Mother’s Plea to Educators About Asperger’s (Part Two)

In part one of this series, I shared my story as a mother to a son with Asperger’s Syndrome and my “wish list” for educators who work with such students.   Although I am a teacher, my training in working with Asperger’s children was on the job experience, as my now almost twenty-year-old son has struggled his […]

Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion

Dealing With Entitlement

[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 just got back from picking up the durable medical supplies that my mom lost in the tornado. It’s been a little over a month since two terrible storms ravaged my […]