Some of best lines in the film The Princess Bride are given to the assassin-for-hire Vizzini. For those unfamiliar with this classic film, Vizzini’s repeated use of the word “inconceivable” is finally challenged by the vengeance-seeking swordsman, Inigo Montoya while they stand overlooking a cliff watching the Dread Pirate Roberts climb in pursuit: [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ […]
From the Front Lines
Posted inClassroom Management, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, New Teacher Bootcamp, The New Teacher Chronicles, Uncategorized
No “Over” Needed in Whelmed New Teachers
My school district completed four days of first class professional development that began with a visit from Dave Burgess, the author of Teach Like a Pirate and ended with faculty-led collaborative committees organizing for an accreditation visit from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). In four short days, the veteran teachers adjusted, organized classrooms, and prepared […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, From the Front Lines, Literacy, Uncategorized
Literally Inexperienced David Coleman, Architect of the Common Core
“Literally” added a new meaning this past month….literally. A quick look at the Cambridge Dictionaries Online indicates that while the meaning of literally as “ having the real or original meaning of a word or phrase” will now include use of the word “to emphasize what you are saying.” A similar entry from an authority across the pond, Oxford […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education
Back to School Tips for Elementary Teachers
Every year the back-to-schools sales start and I am excited and yet apprehensive about beginning a new school year. This is my 17th year teaching. Seventeen years of setting up a learning space for students and families. Seventeen years of a new class list, Open House, Parent Night, and the first week. Every year I […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum
“Then a Miracle Occurs” Blends Art and Science in Teaching
A favorite New Yorker cartoon of mine is by Sidney Harris. Two men stand in front of a chalkboard. Their demeanor indicates they are mathematicians. Scrawled on the chalkboard to the left of them is step one, a complicated mathematical formula. To the right of them, step three, is the solution to that complicated formula. In […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Educators Waiting for Mr. Rochester
[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”] This summer I have been visiting the family estate at Gateshead, the harsh boarding school Lowood, and the Gothic mansion called Thornfield Hall through the audio download of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre courtesy of SYNC YA. This […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum
10 Supplies Every Teacher Needs..NOW
In a couple of weeks, thousands of teachers will open their classroom to a new classroom of eager students ready to learn for the new school year. During this time, teachers will have the privilege to know a whole new set of schools and have the chance to ask parents to help contribute to supplies […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines
Building A Learning Culture Within Your School
Professionalism to educators is about creating and enhancing a culture of learning. This culture develops out of diversity. I believe that if you visited any school in the United States you would find a very diverse staff. Diversity can actually be something other and more than ethnicity. Many people in today’s society tend to equate […]