‘Twas the night before score release And all through the house Teachers were waiting For their score to be announced! The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards released the scores of National Board candidates this past weekend. Teachers anxiously waited
Read MoreThe Teaching Tango
Is teaching an art or a science? Well, it depends on who you ask. There are those who believe that teaching is an art. There is absolutely an art to teaching: letting your passion shine, engaging students in their learning,
Read MoreSOS: Teacher Edition
La la la, la la la, la la la la la, oh You know I’ve never felt like this before La la la, la la la, la la la la la, oh This feels like so unreal I begin to
Read MoreSages, Guides, and Thunderdome
It is with incredible frequency that I hear the axiom that a teacher should be a “guide on the side, not a sage on a stage”. It has been so often repeated that it is rarely even questioned; which means
Read More4 Suggestions to Help the Sub Crisis
Thankfully, the room had an entire wall of windows, so it didn’t matter that I couldn’t find the light switch. As the students arrived, they rattled off dozens of questions. I am uncertain if all of them made their way
Read MoreBeing a Mentor Teacher
Growing the profession – this is the job of mentor teachers. It’s our job to make sure that novice teachers and student teaching candidates have what they need; materials, answers, support, advice, techniques, teaching tools, and anything else that might
Read MoreBlood, Sweat, and Tears: Oh My! Teaching National Board Pre-Candidacy in my District
I am a ball of nervous and excited energy, bouncing on the tips of my toes. Internal dialogue is going on in my head ranging from “Don’t be too excited. You’ll talk too fast!” to “Let your passion and excitement
Read MoreClassroom Priorities
What is the most important thing you do as an educator? How do we figure out the answer to that question? Should we rank them? Should we prioritize them? How do we do everything? Here is a quick list of
Read MoreThe Problem of Choice
In nearly every teacher-led meeting I’ve ever attended, the conversation tends to revolve around the same issues: test scores, grades, curriculum, standards alignment, and how these relate to vaguely defined “student achievement”. I can count on one hand the PLCs
Read MoreAn, An, An, Anaphora
My students surprise me every day. My students delight me every day. My students amuse me every day. My students question me every day. The repetition of phrases like that is a rhetorical device known as an anaphora. While we
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