“Well, I’m okay with struggling financially, I teach because I love my kids not to get rich.” “Well…I’d like to move to that job in Central Office, but I don’t know if I’m qualified.” “I don’t know if I could ask for what I wanted. They may not let me do that.” As educators, we’ve […]
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Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
What Educators Learn From Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson
[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”] On March 22nd, 2012, A&E launched its first episode of Duck Dynasty. The show, which is about Phil Robertson, his wife Kay, their children, grandchildren, their multi-million dollar company, and their […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Sandy Hook Remembered
The news is full of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. The news is full of what hasn’t changed. True, some safety measures have been put in place. Some school districts have armed teachers, hired more security, or added mental health services. Many, […]
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My Life as a Teacher
As a teacher a lot of people ask me what my day consists of. Some think that I wake up thinking about ways to engage my students and most of them are correct. Being an elementary school teacher is different because everything I do revolves around what I will do with my children that day […]
Posted inCommon Core, How to Fix Education, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Common Standards, Disparate Lives
I get the push for common standards, I really do. Poor students shouldn’t be doomed to lesser expectations. As much as I dislike George Bush’s No Child Left Behind and all the unintended(?) negative consequences it has had on public education, I must admit that the “soft bigotry of low expectations” was and is a […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Snow Day Blues
Today is a snow day at my school, and I’m happy about that because I like to think and write. I love my job, and I love being around kids, but a snow day gives me a chance to stop and wonder. There isn’t enough time for wondering when you’re working, unless you’re better at […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Coach Files, Uncategorized
Adventures in Coaching- Learning When to Shut Up
Working as an Instructional Coach is a delicate balance of learning how to balance being a coach who frequently talks teachers “off the ledge” and not losing your teaching credibility. On one hand you’re still a teacher because many times you find yourself in classrooms helping a teacher with a particular lesson, but other times […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Testing Pressure Should Not Define Young Lives
[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”] Consider this test question given to children in September of their Second Grade year in Chicago Public Schools two years ago: A boy has to read a book that is 162 […]