Years ago I stopped presenting, coaching and even talking about ‘classroom management’. Who wants to be managed? To be ‘handled’? As an adult, I want to be led. Students want to learn and they want (yearn for) boundaries; AND they want to be led. Creating and adhering to a list of concrete rules and automatic […]
Opinion
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, High School, Opinion
How to Survive the Last Semester of the School Year with Your Sanity Intact!
News Flash: The Winter Break is almost over. Yup. Just like that. We wait, and wait, AND WAIT all of first semester for two unadulterated weeks to experience a WHOLE lot of Netflix and chill only to remember that it was only temporary and we have been kicked to the curb yet again until the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Legal, Opinion
Friedrichs v. CTA – Supreme Court Hears a Major Education Case
Today (Monday, January 11, 2016), the Supreme Court will hear the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) in what could be a pivotal moment educators, their unions, collective bargaining, and fair share fees. In case you haven’t heard of this case, the crux of the issue is that 9 teachers in California are suing their union to […]
Posted inOpinion
10 Absolutely Spot-On Teaching Memes
They show up on your Facebook feed, you laugh, nod, and then share them with your friends. And unless they’re also teachers, they probably really don’t even get it, but they are funny if only because they are so true. That’s right. I’m talking about teaching memes. Here are ten teaching memes that are absolutely […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, High School, Opinion
CONVERSATIONS WITH CRAIG: How Teaching With a Friend Makes Me A Better Teacher
Almost every morning of my life, I have a conversation with one of my best friends in the world. His name is Craig. Our conversations wander. I never really know what our serpentine dialectics will yield. But there is one thing I know for sure: these conversations over the past five years have made me […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Parents
Out of the Mouths of Parents:10 Things That Parents Have Actually Said
Ahhhhhh….. Christmas break. I’ve been waiting for this vacation since October when the honeymoon phase of a new school year began wearing off and the realization of ‘normality’ set in. This break allows me time to reflect, piece my weary self back together and recall some of the craziest things that parents have said this […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Parents
Winning Back Public Opinion, One Conversation at a Time
For teachers, Christmas and holiday break is probably getting old – if only because of the discussions had with others. Typically these things go negative pretty quickly, since the general public has delved into a disregard for educators through simplified generalizations as lazy (“must be nice to have the summers off”), union-thug (“must be nice to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
Making the Best Persuasive Argument Does Not Mean Writing an Essay
The Best Persuasive Argument of 2015 was not presented in the form of the standard five paragraph essay. Instead, the best persuasive argument made this year featured 1000 musicians playing the song “Learn to Fly” in a field in order to persuade the rock band Foo Fighters to play a concert in a small town in Italy. The entire project was […]