In theory, I agree with the idea of “school choice.” If parents have strong feelings about their child attending a certain school, I think school choice makes sense. But for the rest of our community, I think the school choice
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8th Grade Promotion: Party, Pomp or Passé?
A few weeks ago, I attended my son’s 8th grade promotion ceremony. Needless to say, I am extremely proud of him. He has overcome many obstacles and is becoming a responsible student and a principled friend and citizen, in addition
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The Emotional Toll of the Last Day
Yesterday was the last day of school. There was a pizza party, yearbook signing, and lots of adorably dramatic pre-teen tears mingling with shouts of joy. In theory, I should have woken up today with a feeling of freedom and
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Until the Last Day
Every year, there is a point in which I think, “I have done everything I can for my students. I don’t know what else to do?!” This usually occurs during the weeks after our standardized test. I teach third grade
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Teacher Appreciation Weak
Ah, teacher appreciation week. I look forward to the handmade cards and homemade goodies, and if I’m really lucky, school supplies or a Starbucks gift card. But here’s what I really want for Teacher Appreciation Week. Stop undermining the teaching
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From One Moment to the Next
Last Monday in Coolidge, I was coaching a cohort of teachers who are pursuing the National Board Certificates. Ben Barth, a massage therapy teacher at the Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology (CAVIT), was in the zone. He planned to
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The Slippery Slope of Teacher Certification
I swore I would never teach junior high. Junior high, two swirling years of what, as a student, I experienced as daily hell. I owe all my patient and forgiving junior high teachers a debt of gratitude. By the time
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Two-minute(ish) Challenge
We have all seen the challenges posted on social media or overheard a colleague who is on a 30-day challenge. Maybe they are changing what they eat for 30 days or doing the 30-day push-up challenge. Either way you know
Read More“I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
Exactly four years ago today, I published Spontaneous Professional Development, a brief post describing four cases demonstrating that, “Much of my most valuable professional development came out of nowhere, was free, and lasted minutes – or even seconds. All I
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True Teacher Confession #2: Sometimes I Judge Too Quickly
I am not in the habit of asking that students not be placed in my classroom. In fact, I usually troll the 4th grade teachers at the end of the year and ask for students with siblings that were in
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