“Don’t smile until December,” a teacher warned me before I started my first year. I tried that on the first day, but it was too hard. My face is expressive. Kids know if I’m scared or nervous or happy or
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Some Needs Are More Basic Than Math
The hand that holds mine on our path through life is chapped and cut and burned: the wages, along a few dollars an hour, of preparing 400 school meals a day. Her day begins early. Up and out the door
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Virtually Segregated
Teachers must be vigilant that with online tools we do not inadvertently stigmatize groups of students we mean to help.
Read MoreThe Real Advantage of Wealthier Schools
I love my school and I love my school district. I love the people I know and the community that surrounds it. I love the kids I teach and the way they’ve entrusted me with their stories. And yet .
Read MoreThe World isn’t That Flat
A good friend of mine recently became a special education teacher. It is her second career, so she's a bit older than most rookie teachers. But she's got the optimism and enthusiasm of someone in her early twenties, and it's
Read MoreWhat If? #4: What if teachers had it all?
How would your teaching change if you had all the resources you needed?
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Bill Gates, Dead Squirrels, and Teacher Preparation Programs
Let’s be honest, how many people do you know who drop out of an elementary education program because it’s too rigorous? Personally, I don’t know any, but I do know quite a few who have dropped out of teaching because it’s too hard.
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Why I Joined the “Union”
I reflect on why I pay my professional association dues.
Read MoreA Cat, a Washing Machine, and a Tornado
Are you caught in a tornado? Is school a cat or a washing machine? I synthesize how ideas of embracing volatility outlined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb relate to principles of the Global Fourth Way in education outlined by Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley.
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How Will We Walk the Talk? Conclusion
In Part One I asked, What will teachers finally say when we are given a voice at the policy-making table? Part Two profiled John Prosser, a teacher leader in Washington state, who facilitates the implementation of policy he helped negotiate. The conclusion features
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