Recently, a colleague of mine had the honor of speaking to teenagers about the power of becoming an educator. To prepare, she posted a Facebook status asking these questions: “Why should people pursue teaching degrees? Why should people teach in public schools?”
Read MoreThe Practical Application of Fiction
One Thank God for language arts teachers who give students the opportunity to discover that fiction provides insights into human nature. Without that knowledge, I probably would never have read the passages below. Consequently, I don’t know how I would
Read MoreThe Broken Principal
In December, Donnie Dicus shared his blog, “The Broken Teacher Re-focused.” I had read other blogs by Jess Leddbetter and Treva Jenkins and countless articles about teacher stress and how the teaching profession has broken many teachers and we need to find ways
Read MoreThe Broken Teacher Re-focused
Teaching is easy! Teachers get 9 weeks off for the summer, two weeks off around the winter holidays, a week in spring and maybe a week in the fall. Teachers also get at least 7 other holidays off sprinkled throughout
Read MoreAll I Want is a Comma for Christmas
This past week I went to lunch with a large group of teachers on my staff. We spent the usual time discussing our common students: the good, the bad, the ugly, and all the issues we were each dealing with
Read MoreWe Are All Jason
Dedicated to Kate Gilbert. There is a way to be good again. Anyone who’s read the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini remembers that line. And anyone who tries to be good empties their cup and asks anew, what will it
Read MoreSchool Images Matter: What Do They Say?
You’ve heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words,” right? I believe this is true and especially important when it comes to imagery that represents schools today. School images influence public perception about what “good” education looks like
Read MoreReality Check for English Language Learners
Snippets of surreptitious conversational Spanish dart around the classroom amid scattered outbursts of giggles. I review the color-coded highlighting of sentence parts in our newest sentence formula involving superlative adjectives, pointing to the laminated neon cards magneted to the
Read MoreThe War Against Cognitive Dissonance
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does the tree make a sound? According to George Berkley 1750, who I studied in philosophy 101 at NAU, neither the tree nor the forest
Read MoreThank You, Voters!
Election season has come and gone. No matter which candidate you supported, there is one thing that all of us can celebrate; a break from endless campaign commercials! Another thing that Arizonans can celebrate is the number of bonds and
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