When the end of the year comes around, we teachers like to take that last snapshot of our classroom and the wonderful contents in it. Sometimes we get more than we bargain for; sometimes tears are shed. This is their story. And damn them for making me cry. [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=”” […]
Featured
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Diamond in the Rough: Personalized Math Professional Development
My school year has ended and I look forward to the summertime not only because school has ended but because I am able to reflect on the past school year and create goals to improve my instruction for the next school year. I thought that this was the norm for most teachers but when I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Triangle of Support All Students Need
We often speak of students saving our teaching career through notes or actions. Sometimes we even speak of other teachers helping keep our sanity, but we rarely speak of parents. Parents and teachers rarely seem to be on the same side which is upsetting because we have the same goal. We want what is best […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Educators and “The Bully Pulpit”: Election 2016
“dope” “fat” “stupid” Those are “bullying” words that an educator in a school is trained to listen for and respond to in most states by law. In my State of Connecticut the law is specific and: “Requires that school personnel report, in a timely and responsive manner, incidents of bullying they witness or are aware of to […]
Posted inOpinion
Take the Sham out of VAM
The selective and convenient use of VAM (valued added measures) by reform advocates, along with other statistics lingo, has helped to frost over the veritable turd cake of ill-conceived reform efforts and the lack of accountability in areas it’s sorely needed. It’s true that there is no excuse for giving up on the obligation to help children […]
Posted inFeatured
Using Open Classes in OUR Classrooms
I love to learn. I would be the person in college for the rest of my life if I could fit it in with everything else I do. So when I came across Harvard’s open classes, I was in heaven. Several universities, many Ivy League, offer open classes that are free online and can be […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines
Losing Sleep Over Charlotte… Danielson, That Is.
It was my first year back to public school. I had spent so many years in alternative ed, special ed, charter and private schools, and I thought this might be my road to retirement. Until I met Charlotte. Actually, I didn’t so much meet her as I was hit over the head by her Framework […]
Posted inHigh School
Graduations, Endorphins, and Persistence
It happens to me every year about this time the feel-good buzz of a school year’s end inevitably changes my outlook about the prior 35 weeks. Happy memories are expressed in end-of-school projects, field trips create great photo ops and lasting bonds, little gifts come from students, and the emotional high of graduation dominates any […]