October 2010 - STORIES FROM SCHOOL AZ

Big Pumpkin

October 30, 2010Jen Robinson Uncategorized

As a kindergarten teacher, I always loved reading the story, Big Pumpkin by Erika Silverman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHkuZKAW7bs Maybe it was the singsong, predictable prose. Well she pulled and she tugged and she pulled. First she pulled hard and then she pulled

Do you love your job? Are you sure?

October 29, 2010Donnie Dicus Uncategorized

Over the past few years, I have had the opportunities to attend workshops and various meetings and meet many teachers that were neither at my school site nor even in my district or city. It was interesting and intellectually stimulating

Not-So-Strange Bedfellows

October 25, 2010Eve Rifkin Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

As co-founder of a small charter high school, I decided to interview Mike Klonsky, Chicago-based leader in the modern small-schools movement. Mike and I have a lot in common: we agree that small schools offer a more humane and functional alternative to big schools. We also share the belief, as evidenced by research and our own experiences, that small schools have lower teacher turnover, experience less violence, and allow for greater teacher autonomy.

Listen

October 13, 2010Jen Robinson Education, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Mentoring

As teachers we listen to our kids. We know when they have had a bad day and need extra attention or praise. We know when they have a supportive home and when they need that support from us. We use

The Union I Know

October 11, 2010Daniela A. Robles Uncategorized

As the Arizona temperatures begin to fall below a hundred, and the excitement surrounding “Education Week” in America begins to fade, we find ourselves with lingering thoughts. I know I find myself with sound bytes from the teacher accountability discussion

Sorry, Superman.

October 10, 2010Mike Lee Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Literacy, Mathematics, Parent Involvment, Social Issues

You can keep waiting for Superman, but he’s not coming. I find the title of a certain highly controversial documentary to be ironic, because it is problematic in its symbolism, alone. To invoke such iconography during the debate over

Coffee Talk

October 6, 2010Alaina Adams Books, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Professional Development, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

One of my favorite skits on Saturday Night Live was “Coffee Talk,” in which a Mike Meyers-inspired character, Linda Richman, praised the likes of Barbara Streisand, said everything “looked like butta,” and encouraged viewers to “talk amongst themselves” with a one-word command: “discuss.” Yes, the characters on this