Let’s be perfectly honest, reflection at any time of the year is hard, let alone in the moment or in real time. This is especially true as the year winds to a close. In schools, we witness and experience extreme
Read More
13 Things I’m Happy About at My New School
Some months ago, in The Last Walk to the Parking Lot, I described how a long tenure at my previous school ended and what working there had meant to me. Now, in this season of thanksgiving and hope, it seems
Read More
All I Want for Christmas: A Teacher’s Legislative Wishlist
Even though I’m listening to Wham’s “Last Christmas” for the third time today, I know the Ghost of Christmas Future looms right around the corner – for January brings the beginning of the Arizona legislative session. I’ve written before about
Read More
To Infinity and Beyond! Advocating for the Future
I’ve been wearing red every Wednesday since March 2018. I’ve worn it for better teacher wages, for more funding for student resources, for building repairs and curriculum updates, and as a desperate plea for respect for the teaching profession. I’ve
Read More
Life as a Preschool Ninja
Yeah, you read that right. I’m a well-trained ninja. I can block flying items, catch falling kids, jump from the floor to my feet instantaneously, and open up doors using my knees when my hands are full. You might be
Read More
Raising Digital Citizens
The layers of irony in the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail are numerous, but most overt is that the hit-you-over-the-head motif in the film is that the characters all use technology yet smite it. Technology will end society as we
Read More
Want, Need, Wear, Read
I walked into the classroom of one of my beginning teachers and noticed a ‘teacher wishlist’ on her board. Some additions were obvious; it was December and supplies of tissues, dry erase markers, and hand sanitizer were running dangerously low
Read More
‘Twas the Week Before Christmas
‘Twas the week before Christmas and we are ready for break No one was working how much more can we take? The students looked busy but I knew it was fake. How can they stay focused when the year is
Read More
No Goodbyes
Last Monday, Diana did not show up to school. After I take attendance, I habitually ask the class for confirmation of who is missing, just to keep me on my toes. “So, Diana’s absent?” “Yes.” “Se fue a Mexico.” “She
Read More
Waking Up is Hard to Do
Confession: I love a good princess story. When work and professional reading make my heart heavy, I’ve found that sometimes light reading is just the ticket to resurfacing out of the gloom. I recently read a short story by Cameron
Read More