I know that being ‘goal oriented’ has become a catch phrase. I don’t think I need to press that point for you. As I write, I am reflecting on a post by @disruptEDtv about an interview with Jay Billy where the post describes his out-of-the-box interviewing strategies for new teacher hires. I don’t think I’ve […]
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the intentionality that should be teaching. For example, how many of us (I’ll jump in here just so I don’t point fingers…) tell our students that they should ‘compare these two (……) and tell how they’re different.” Ok. Well, my hair just caught fire. The word […]
As I was preparing my lessons for this week, I came across a video I’d made in 2013 for one of my graduate classes. For what’s it’s worth, here’s…A Little History…
As I watched the TV journal story on CBS Morning News by Alex Wagner with Amy Sherald, the artist who painted the now famous picture of Michelle Obama, the artist was describing her journey in her craft, her words about ‘living harder’ struck a chord. She explained that as an artist, there is no […]
I usually need to look no further for an inspiration to write than my class or my Twitter feed. This morning, I read an article by a pediatric oncologist who wrote about one of his patient’s thoughts on dying. “You know,” he told me the evening I admitted him. “A few years ago, I wouldn’t […]
I’ve heard it said that our life’s road isn’t always the one we choose. That the road we walk may be related to our choices, but that our choices don’t always guarantee we will reach our intended destination. So it is the lesson I am learning each day. When I sat down to write my […]
As an In-class resource teacher, I have the distinct privilege of entering the world of many teachers, whether they like it or not. During the time I spend with my co-teachers, I am privy to the everyday behaviors that evaluators and administrators rarely, if ever, see. On Monday, just yesterday though it feels like many […]
I was writing to a friend of mine this morning and part of the letter took me way back to 1985, a time in my life when very big things were happening. My father died in March and I filed for divorce in September. I have long known that the two events were inexorably linked […]
I’m writing this to all of you as a sort of reflection on a challenge and solution I’ve recently been reminded to use. As you may know, I lead an organization that delivers professional development. Teachers and administrators gather to share and learn all sorts of things from classroom management ideas to the latest and […]
Let me get this out there: this week my beautiful, 35 year-old daughter, Casey, has had a preliminary diagnosis of muscular dystrophy. You may have just gasped. You intrinsically understand the gravity of the situation, imagining yourself in my shoes facing the prospect of having my daughter, my vivacious, comical, sarcastically-optimistic-in all-situations daughter facing a […]
