My wish for the next group of elected state officials is to adopt a growth mindset when you take on your new roles. But even more specifically, my hope is that this new crop will adopt a growth mindset
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10 Weeks In
The week before break. Nothing prepares you for the week before a break. Not your graduate or undergraduate courses, not attending in-service learning, nor engaging in webinars. You run on adrenaline, navigating in and out of exhaustion, trying your best
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Friends Don’t Let Friends Commit Educational Malpractice
My former assistant principal and all-around amazing human being, Molly Garcia, taught me about the importance of teachers undertaking a deep dive into brain research and why teachers need to understand how the brain learns. She taught me that if
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All We Need is Love…
In these turbulent times, I was really inspired by the Az K-12 Homeroom article entitled, “Spreading Kindness in the Classroom.” Now, more than ever, teaching our young people civility inside and outside of the classroom is paramount. Throughout my many
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The Educated Voter…Midterm Elections 11/6/18
One lesson that I think all educators across the valley can agree with is that it is critical for us to stay informed and involved in our legislative process. I think we also learned that in order to do this,
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A Thin Line and an Outstretched Hand
The hit series The Wire featured an addict and confidential informant named Bubbles. In an early episode, Detective Jimmy McNulty needs to meet with Bubbles but is running late for his own kid’s soccer game. He ends up driving Bubbles
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History Has Its Eyes on You
This is part one of a two-part series of blogs written by Susan Collins and me. I met Susan through the Arizona National Board Teachers Network shortly after she’d moved from Mississippi to Kingman, Arizona. We bonded over the
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Stack Em Deep, Teach Em Cheap
Ask a parent a simple question; would you like your kid in a class with 25 kids or 37 kids? I think we all know the answer. Parents want more individual attention for their child, doesn’t everyone? Class size
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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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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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