I am not a very good sick person. I don’t like stuffing my pockets full of Kleenex, dosing up on Sudafed, and trying to make it through my day. But I don’t like the alternative, either. Hunkering down in the house with a stack of unread newspapers, that novel I’ve been meaning to finish since […]
teaching
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Opinion, Uncategorized
There's More To a Student than Just A Number
I was so angry. How could anyone just give up on a child because of a number! Let me back up. Way back to this past summer. Bear with me. I tutor during the summer. I had a family contact me about tutoring their foster children, a soon-to-be first grader and a fifth grader. They […]
Posted inUncategorized
What Teachers Are Really Searching For Online
Wonder what teachers are really searching for online? I can tell you – it’s not just lesson plans or decoration ideas. It’s not just how to deal with the unruly child, or how to motivate a reluctant reader. Those searches would be understandable. What teachers are really searching for online is this: jobs for retired […]
Posted inCommon Core, Educational Apps, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, Literacy, Middle School
Four Reasons Why I'm In Love With Chromebooks In The Classroom
I cannot deny it any longer – I’m in love with Chromebooks. Chromebooks have transformed my teaching. All those times in the last 25 years when I used to say, “Well, that would be easy if I had a class set of computers” has turned into my reality. Chromebooks have become a wonderful tool for […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, New Teacher Bootcamp, The New Teacher Chronicles
Five Fabulous New Year's Resolutions for Teachers
It’s time for us to start another new year and start making our New Year’s Resolutions again. Americans everywhere are making resolutions like “lose weight” or “get a better job,” but, aside from the clichéd resolutions of years past, what goals can we educators make to improve our lives from this point forward? Here are […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, From the Front Lines, Middle School
Gun Violence: A Teacher's New Normal?
Tomorrow morning I’ll bike to school like I always do. I’ll park by my classroom, unlock the outside door, and head into the indoor hallway. I’ll hear other English teachers leading their lessons, and I’ll peek inside to see the 7th grade faces. As I near my classroom, I’ll hear the chatter from the Spanish […]
Posted inFeatured, Teacher Burnout
Smothering Burnout: Tips for Teachers On the Edge of Teacher Burnout
I am in my twentieth year of teaching. I know I am doing what I was created to do. I know I am teaching where I need to be teaching. But after two decades of teaching, the ‘B’ word has begun to haunt me: I am burning out. My dad used to always say if […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
15 Things My Newborn Son Taught Me About Education
On November 1st at 11:05p, Jonah, my newborn son, entered the world, joining my wife and me. While I’ve taught nearly 1,500 students in my 10 years of education, I hadn’t learned as much from one until I had after staying home with my new found family. Here are a dozen things he’s taught my wife and me that […]