At the end of last year, I changed positions. The difficult part of that was being expected to “replace” one of our best teachers in the entire district. Part of this involved his fun, learning-based classroom environment that he’d created over the 30-odd years of being there. I still remember one of my colleagues saying […]
new teachers
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Opinion
Using Edmodo In Elementary Classrooms
I am always looking for new and innovative ways to enhance my teaching and my classroom. Preferably ways which aren’t too expensive. As an elementary classroom teacher, I also have to be careful with what my students are exposed to. To this I have one word. Edmodo. Oh, how I have fallen in love with […]
Posted inCharter Schools, High School
Teacher Turnover (Charter School Diaries #24)
Week 6/17 – 6/21 [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”] There are so many problems with schooling in the United States. I don’t claim to have the answers to help all of the schools in the entire […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
Dealing With Entitlement
[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”] I just got back from picking up the durable medical supplies that my mom lost in the tornado. It’s been a little over a month since two terrible storms ravaged my […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Middle School, Opinion
Take a Moment to Stop – And Enjoy the End of the School Year!
“Hey Jake,” Bill, our school custodian, stopped me as I sped down the hallway with a list of things to accomplish, “did you see the beautiful, blooming dogwood out in front of the school?” “Yeah, it looks great,” I said as I shrugged him off in ways only busy teachers understand. “I’m serious man, come […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Featured
The Certification Blues (Charter School Diaries #21)
Week 5/28 – 5/31 I try not to complain much; I usually just go with the flow. But sometimes, when you take the “go with the flow” attitude, you sometimes can be taken advantage of or even disregarded. When I was first hired at my school, it was as an Educational Specialist with my teaching […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
The Absent Teacher
OK. Can I just rant a minute? I totally understand that teachers are people too. We have normal lives that involve doctor’s appointments, our own sick kids, funerals and professional development conferences during the school day. I get this. But what about that ONE teacher who we all know that seems to have unending amounts […]
Posted inBook Review, Opinion
"The Well-Balanced Teacher" – A Book Review
The Well-Balanced Teacher: How to Work Smarter and Stay Sane Inside the Classroom and OutBy Mike Anderson Publisher: ASCD, 2010 I was raised on the basis of ‘work smarter, not harder.’ This adage rings in my ears for just about everything I try to accomplish. However, we all know about the road of good […]