At an event the other day with a group of teachers I had just met, one made the offhand comment that the real world doesn’t differentiate. Her opinion was met with general agreement by the other teachers. The undertone of
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Back to Schools
The #NowItStarts hashtag in May was intended to be a reminder to all stakeholders in Arizona that Prop 123 was only a beginning to the process of properly funding Arizona schools. Part of the consensus on Proposition 123, with the
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The Conundrum of Cursive
Does cursive handwriting have a place in today’s schools? That depends on who you talk to, but I say yes, it does. You may be thinking, “Typing skills are needed in the real world.” Yes, of course, but one skill
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Split Vision
In many ways, teachers are masters of split vision on a micro scale. Have you ever seen a first grade teacher successfully run independent literacy stations? What about an ELL teacher hold a Socratic Seminar? How about a middle school
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Teacher Prep & Title II
Retention, recruitment, preparation, access, and equity: all words tied to the state of education. The words transcend districts and state lines, and these words all connect to student impact. The choices being made at the very beginning of this educational
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The Rising Tide: Certification
An education “reformer” floated a proposal to the Governor’s Classrooms First Council that would allow local education agencies (LEAs) to certify teachers independently. The Council agreed that local certification wasn’t a solution and would cause more harm than good.
Read MoreDress Codes: A Life-Sucking-Stress-Inducer?
You know the expression, darned if you do, darned if you don’t. Maybe you’re familiar with a more colorful version of the line, but I’m not looking for controversy and often neither are school administrators. Regardless of such wishes, none
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Maintaining the Magic
I originally had blog posts planned, and mostly written, on topics of Prop.123 and ESSA, in the effort to remain current and connected to policy. I was ready to publish one of the above topics and realized that this
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Nobody Puts Teacher Leadership in a Corner!
If you’ve seen the movie, Dirty Dancing, you most likely remember the line, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” And if you remember this line, then you most likely remember how determined Patrick Swayze’s character was to place his beloved Baby
Read MoreTrading Bad Behavior for Good Behavior
Years ago, when they were still small, my boys were helping my wife make pot roast. The first thing she did was cut off four inches of good meat and throw it away. “Why’d you cut off that good meat
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