This weekend I was home alone. This was it, my chance to settle in with my National Board renewal process and knock it out. My goal was to revise component one on Friday night, then write component two and three
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Laughing, But Not to the Bank
In a recent Gallup Poll teachers were found to have a relatively high sense of "well being" compared to other workers. In fact, teachers ranked second only to physicians on Gallup's "Life Evaluation Index" score. This score is a composite of
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What’s the temperature in my class?
Blogger Julie Torres coordinates support for National Board candidates in our district. In that capacity she observes many teachers at their practice. In her recent post, 10 Degrees of Teaching, Julie takes the temperature of the current teaching environment and lists ten observations. After
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Can a Girl Get Some Color?
English teacher creates an epic hip hop ballad that will rock your world and leave you flabbergasted as to why teachers of core subjects often do not have access to colored paper or a color printer or photocopier.
Read MoreWhy I Am Not Silent on Immigration
Juan's mom shows up, make-up smeared, holding his younger brother. My Spanish isn't great, but I can understand the message. We're going to Mexico. And if they don't want us there, it's back to El Salvador. His dad works construction while his
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Vulgar and Perilous Reforms
In 1790, conservative political philosopher Edmund Burke wrote in Reflections on the Revolution in France: “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.” Clay Shirky, expert on the role of social media and
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What If? (#3) OR Why My Teacher Website is So Ugly
Teachers and students working in the classroom often know the tech tools we need, and we can learn them an implement them if the systems in our schools are responsive enough to meet our needs quickly.
Read MoreThe Problem with VAM Scores
Before the district kill-and-drill benchmark test, a student says to me, "You look stressed." "I'm fine," I lie, offering a grin that looks more like a grimace. "I normally blow off the test, but my mom says you could lose
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It’s Complicated
The other day I was listening to a news program on the radio about national parks. The scientist on the show suggested that restrictive boundaries around park lands are not actually good for wildlife. Animals need corridors. If a particular species
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