Frida Kahlo is known for her vibrancy in art and life, and her courage. Although I have always loved the surreal, direct qualities of her portraits, I had forgotten that she experienced injury and illness that led to multiple physical
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Summer Love
I love summer. I have been wanting to write about loving summer for weeks! But I have been too busy travelling with my family to Costa Rica, shuttling my kids to swim team, water polo, and football camp, reading novels,
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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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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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The Magic of the National Board Process: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
My friends tease me about my stash of office supplies that I constantly carry, sticky notes raining in my wake as I walk and highlighters filling every pocket. My house looks like Mission Control as binders bristling with sticky flags
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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SB 1038 – Lets Save High School Physics and Chem
In Arizona, no one can argue that the shortage of teachers is at crisis proportions. There are less and less reasons each year to return to the classroom for teachers statewide. In the sciences, we are even harder pressed
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APATHY IN ARIZONA
APATHY IN ARIZONA Recently I walked into a gas station and inquired about the job posting. The manager position I inquired about offered a higher salary per year than our new first year teachers with specialized training in education. When
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Open Letter to Principals Who Stayed
The following letter is written to all school and district administrators who have stayed for four years or more and worked tenaciously for school improvement. Dear Leaders, Thank you. Thank you for staying put for a few years and leading
Read MoreWhy Did I Have to Look at Those Test Scores?
I’m facing a conundrum. This summer I read Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by Jo Boaler (with a foreword by Carol Dweck of Mindset fame). I was completely fired up by Boaler’s
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