We start this journey of teaching to help, to inspire, to give. We start this journey excited, full of hope, with great expectations. I remember setting up my first classroom with wild excitement, ready to meet my students and so happy to give what was needed. We give of ourselves, our own free time, our […]
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Posted inAsk a Teacher, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, How to Fix Education, Middle School, Opinion
Starting Your Own School: Life Is Full Of Choices – Part I
I stood at my stove angrily stirring corn and frying chicken. My dad was already over for dinner and sat flipping through the mail, patiently waiting for me to either self-combust or start ranting and raving to him. I couldn’t stand it anymore. [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=”” […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Technology, Uncategorized
Blended Classroom Learning, Virtual and Real Classrooms
The Flat Daddy Diaries Many nights ago, my daughter (KF) sighed and said to her dad,”It’s been such a long time since I was able to lay my head on your shoulder.” She snuggled against him while he held her tight and finished the bedtime story. Flat Daddy flew out to New Mexico to present […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
Reading Strategies – By Kids, For Kids
One of my favorite things to do is read. Before bed each night, I crawl under my big cozy covers, grab whatever current novel I’m reading and disappear for at least thirty minutes into a different world. Usually I lose track of my thirty minutes and I’m shaken back into the real world by my […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Opinion, The Unemployed Teacher
Substituting – The Not-Quite-Teaching of Teaching
One of the new adventures I’ve embarked upon since my layoff in 2011 is substitute teaching. Many unemployed teachers I’ve spoken to have been substituting for a very long time, sometimes half a decade or more, waiting to get back into a permanent position. Substituting can be one of the worst – or best – situations in which an […]
Posted inFeatured, Uncategorized
What are the 3 Shifts in Common Core in ELA/Literacy ?
There are few words in the field of education that can evoke the range of emotions that the words common core can. When those words are mentioned there are people who literally balk at the thought of changing, revising, and  revamping standards while others nervously peer over the educational reform landscape, scared to say anything […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Featured, From the Front Lines
{Ask a Teacher} I Feel Like I'm Stuck In the Teaching Profession!
Question #4- I’m stuck. Literally stuck. This is my 12th year teaching and because of the pressure of kids passing tests, unruly students, privileged parents who are insanely rude to the teachers–I rarely want to come to work. I’ve considered quitting but ultimately my students will suffer. How can I get through this year without […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Technology
Distance Learning, IPads and E-Literacy
My husband is separated from me and my daughter by 2,000 miles during my sabbatical here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We are determined to continue our traditional family time despite the distances. Â How we engage in meaningful dialogues leads to less loneliness and motivation to appreciate all that we can from life in a […]