Absolutely necessary; extremely important; crucial; necessary; key; vital; indispensable; needed; required; vitally important; critical; life-and-death; imperative; mandatory; compulsory; obligatory; compelling; urgent; pressing; burning; acute; paramount; preeminent;high-priority; significant; consequential. These words describe the word essential. Notice how many words are employed to define a single word. Anthropologists note that the higher a term is valued, the […]
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Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
If New York Can’t Open Schools, Nobody Can…
On Friday, August 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo greenlighted the over 700 New York State School Districts’ plans for the 2020-2021 school year. His message is clear: New York is tough; it has the lowest numbers in the country, and if New York can’t reopen, then no schools can safely reopen. [bctt tweet=”However, the question remains, […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
School Reopenings: Let’s Risk it All or Not At All
The speculation from politicians, colleagues, parents, and relatives about schools reopening is exhausting. No one with authority seems to have a plan and no procedures are standardized. I am sick of politicians like Florida’s governor, Rick DeSantis, comparing going to Walmart and Home Depot for twenty minutes once a month to educating hundreds of children […]
Posted inParents
15 Things My 4-Year-Old Taught Me About Education
For the last four years, I’ve been updating this list of lessons that my son has taught me about how to be a better teacher. Here is how he has done that: 1 – Make an assessment of life’s priorities. If COVID-19 has taught us nothing else, it’s really — what are your priorities. For […]
Posted inBack to School
2020: An Educator’s Summer of Waiting on COVID-19
When the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed, I knew there would be a new event that would test the mettle of educators, students, parents, and other stakeholders in education. It’s trivia-based, and it has only one question. It’s called “What the hell happens in the fall?” COLLEGE What happens in college is as varied as […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Are you in a Relationship with Remote Learning? It’s Complicated.
As I plan out three more weeks of instruction and online work, I am also reflecting on my relationship with remote learning. Do I like it? Do I hate it? It’s complicated. I am fortunate to teach in a large suburban district slightly northwest of Syracuse, NY. The school leaders invested in one to one […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching During A Pandemic: Where The Grades Don’t Count, And Everything Is Made Up
Teachers on social media are posting inspirational videos. School districts are compassionately giving students food, paper packets, Chrome Books, internet connectivity, and yard signs for seniors. Educators are doing the best they can to make a monumental shift–that may become the norm for the 2020-2021 school year. There is a critical component of school that […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Jake Miller Interviews (A Different) Jake Miller Re: Online Learning
I’m here today with Jake Miller, host of the fantastic Educational Duct Tape podcast, to the man with the same name AND profession as me on ways to guide us on keeping kids first and using technology in our new, COVID-19-pushed learning environment, not to mention ways to apply this learning regardless. @MrJakeMiller (Me): […]