“Remember, it’s not going to be easy – it’s going to be worth it.” Blogger, consultant, and educator extraordinaire Angela Watson ends every one of her “Truth for Teachers” podcasts with this Art Williams quote – one that any educator would agree we know all to well. But the content of her podcasts do make the […]
Featured
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Stress and Mess: Deliberate Practice and Professional Obligation — Part I
Editor’s Note: Writers Dan McConnell and Jake Miller teamed up to take on two driving buzz words – “deliberate practice” and “professional obligation” – and explore how they’re driving teachers to stress. DAN: Teacher Stress Is Not Blessed Teacher stress is a very real problem, and without reforms where they are truly needed, that is […]
Posted inFeatured, Professional Development
The Importance of Attending Professional Conferences
Last Friday, I attended and presented at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English (MCTE) annual fall conference held in Lansing, Michigan. This was my third consecutive year attending and presenting at a professional conference after many, many years of not going at all. I do not think it’s a coincidence that the past three […]
Posted inSeries
Stories of a New Administrator
A little over a year ago I took over as the Director of the small, private school I taught at for six years and attended as a small child. Need it be said that I was thrilled? My staff taught by my side for several years and brainstormed with me for nearly a year. I […]
Posted inOpinion
Religion Isn’t Dead in Schools
From time to time, I receive an email from a parent asking “how do you go about teaching religion?” They are afraid that learning about other religions or even Greek mythology will taint the family beliefs that they and/or their institution have taught. As a public school teacher, there’s really one answer – “I don’t teach […]
Posted inFeatured
[Podcast S2E10] The Microaggressions of Mispronouncing a Student’s Name
You open your class list and you see all of the names of the new students in your class this year. As you go down, you notice there are some names you may have trouble with. What’s your first inclination, do you practice the name before the student enters your room? Or do you wait […]
Posted inFeatured
Taking The Plunge: Starting a School
When I wrote about starting a school four years ago, I never dreamed I would continually get a steady stream of emails from teachers who were either embarking on the journey or thinking of undertaking this huge calling to buck the system and branch out on their own. But here I am four years later, staring […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Social Justice
Implicit Bias: The Missed Post-Debate Discussion
Estimates are that over 100 million people (broadcast television and streaming combined) tuned into the Presidential Debate on September 26, 2016 – the largest viewership ever of a debate, and one of the largest television audiences ever. In the week following the debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, several parts of the debate […]