Deep breath in. The beginning of a school year feels like a fresh morning in the mountains: new energy, new students, new staff members. Everyone is busy, but there is hopefulness. It reminds me of standing on the porch watching
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A Fresh Start: New Beginnings with Learning Styles
It’s the most wonderful time of the year is playing in my head right now! I absolutely love the start of a new school year, and after a quite challenging year last year, I am truly looking forward to a
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Room for Reflection: Learning Environments
“Accomplished English language arts teachers carefully and intentionally design and manage all aspects of the learning environment, from the physical space and the physical resources within it, to the movement of people and objects, the personal relationships within the environment,
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Required Reading: What Every Educator Should Read
A social media trend took over this summer. As I scrolled through my feed, my friends began posting their “7 Day Challenges” ranging from books, music, movies, and personal photos. The challenge required participants to post pictures of their seven
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Dear Principal
Dear Principal, First let me say, I don’t envy you. I know your job is a tough one- heavy on responsibility and light on accolades. But after almost twenty years of working with all sorts of administrators as a classroom
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Classroom Management: Consensus on Ends, Not Means
Soon, if not already, many schools will start revisiting their classroom management systems. In his “news” letter (his quotations) this week, Jonah Goldberg provides an excellent jumping off point for these discussions: “[W]e need to return to the idea of ideological and
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Welcome to the End: An Exercise in Reflection
The end is almost near and what a year it has been! As teachers, we graded thousands of assignments; we taught our scholars important life lessons and witnessed their friendships blossom; we watched and experienced the beauty and innocence of our scholars
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Two-By-Ten Strategy Part 2
Earlier this year, I shared a blog about how teachers at my school are using the two-by-ten strategy to build relationships with at-risk scholars. You know the ones. The scholars that challenge our patience. The scholars who push back and
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Clarity through Focus (Part 2) and #RedforEd
What I discovered at our school was something that we already knew: Although we are an urban-based public school within a district with issues mirroring the nation, we had little to no annual teacher turnover. Our students return to a
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Now Is The Time for Critical Friends
In the aftermath of “Red for Ed” and in anticipation of the next election, it is imperative that we take the lessons learned these last few weeks and start expanding our networks. I was impressed by the volume of
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