Tag Archives: elementary school
You can’t Shame Your Way to Success
If you’re anything like the many people who step on the scale every morning, after enjoying a night – or full day of – candy, soda, and carbs, you’re probably still really angry that the count is continuously higher than yesterday’s. Regardless, you step down, glare in the mirror, and in your faux-drill-sergeant voice you […]
July 10, 2018 11:40 am
Teach Like It’s The 21st Century
In the beginning there were desks. There was a chalkboard. There was a podium. There were students in rows, pencils at the ready, notebooks opened, and a sage on the stage who preached grammar, and geography, and math, but gave no thought to the students in front of them. They were there to listen, learn, […]
June 19, 2018 11:34 am
Write the Real, Not the “Real”
Write the real. Notice there are no quotation marks around the word “real” in that first sentence; it’s because the words that should go down on paper are those that actually represent what actually happens either in real life, or in the thought process of real life, or in the real life lessons learned over […]
June 12, 2018 12:11 pm
When the Sidewalk Never Ends
I don’t remember how old I was when my mom brought home a copy of Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, but I know it’s the first book of poems that I remember reading. I still have my copies of both that book, as well as A Light in the Attic, and while both are […]
June 5, 2018 2:06 pm
The Art of Procrastination
Procrastination is an art form. There should be a plaque, or a People’s Choice award, or a Certificate of Achievement for the focus and commitment it takes to truly sit down a few hours before an assignment is due, flip through notes, press fingers to keyboard, and know that everything will be just fine. I […]
May 29, 2018 11:09 am
Armchair Activist: How Many Clicks Does it Take?
You are an armchair activist armed with Facebook statuses and the click click click of the Like button. You are the world’s misleading expert on everything amassed from hours online. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. You’re armed with Likes based on quarter-researched comments on someone else’s timeline. Never a need to express your own opinions when the […]
May 22, 2018 1:51 pm
Semantics in the Era of “Sup?”
“Semantics semantics you don’t know semantics. Semantics matter, Mom!” my 7-year-old sang to my wife while at the dinner table the other evening. While she sang and pointed, my wife shot me an evil glance, and the kid and I cracked up laughing. It was funny. It was very funny. At the same time, it […]
May 15, 2018 9:18 am
Your Pseudo-Struggles, and the Effect on Your Students
It’s Monday morning, and I’m wondering if the teachers with whom I work are standing outside their doors, and greeting each student as they meander into the classroom. Are they shaking their hands? Are they asking about the music in their headphones? Are they asking about what they read, or saw, or discovered, or questioned […]
May 7, 2018 9:16 am
Confessions of an Educator
What is “Confessions of an Educator”? Too often teachers rely on what they learn in their education programs, and then are scared when they walk into their own classroom, and in front of their own students. The purpose of “Confessions of an Educator”, is to pull back the curtains on education, on instructional practice, on […]
April 30, 2018 1:39 pm