I was thrilled to begin hybrid instruction when my district decided to offer that option to families following fall break. I couldn’t wait to see my students in person. I was excited to see them interacting with their peers in
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Back to School Nightmares
The nightmares always roll in like an angry storm system a few weeks before school starts. Students standing on their desks, unexpected observations by the principal, students not listening, being late to school, being unprepared, and angry parents are some
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Online Classroom Management
I officially had my first discipline referral this year. In an online learning environment, it does feel a little bit embarrassing to have discipline issues, but, I guess it is just as easy to break the rules from home as
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Time to Vote, or Not
It’s time again for what’s becoming a quadrennial visit into the world of social studies. Four years ago in Teaching and Practicing the Civics of Voting, I argued that the merits of not voting should be discussed in lessons about
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Teacher/Parent Paradox
I left for work the other morning and realized that I would not see my son for another 12 plus hours. He would be at home, on his own, working through his junior year. Leading a district in COVID times
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Cameras Off
I am officially starting my 6th week of online teaching through Zoom. Every day, I boot up my laptop, launch my Zoom meeting, and smile at the names of students that appear on my screen in empty black boxes. If
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It’s Time For a Teacher
Betsy DeVos is on track to be President Trump’s least popular cabinet member, with an approval rating of 28%. Many of her decisions have been controversial, ranging from sending a higher percentage of coronavirus relief funds to private schools to
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Reflections
We’ve never done this before! There’s no playbook for this scenario! I feel like we are building the plane while flying it! I’ve heard, and said, all of these statements over the past several months. Living through a global pandemic
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How to get your Students to Stop Trolling
Ughhh, that was tough! That was all I could say as I wrapped up my second week of virtual teaching. The first few weeks have been nonstop: professional development, grade level collaboration, individual Zoom meetings with each student and their
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NBCT vs. COVID-19
We are all facing the challenges of COVID-19. Social distancing, face masks, staying at home, and online instruction. So…. is this a good time to pursue or continue with National Board Certification? Honestly, I think yes. It is. When I
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