There are teachers in every building who don’t speak up in staff meetings. Some used to and stopped somewhere along the way. Others never did, not once, not since their very first meeting in the building. Not the ones who push back on every new initiative out loud. Those teachers get heard whether the room […]
Blog
The Kid Who Never Causes Problems Might Be the One You’re Missing
There’s a kid in every room who has decided not to be noticed. Not the one who’s acting out. That kid gets noticed whether he wants to or not. I mean the other one. The kid who does the work, turns it in on time, never causes a problem, and somehow you get to October […]
Can COURAGE Be Taught? – ABSOLUTELY!
I LOVE seeing courage in action. Witnessing it is inspiring and can fill one with hope. It can start a movement and ignite change. Courage comes in many forms and has many definitions. So let’s be clear on the courage that I am talking about. In the most basic of definitions, I’m talking about the courage […]
Empowered Community vs Classroom Community — Who Drives?
Success in the classroom depends on thousands of variables. They all have importance and they all deserve our attention. My focus here is on a very important variable. One with which I believe we have not been intentional. We need to rethink Community in the Classroom. Don’t freak out just yet. I am not […]
Constructivist Learners Learn HOW TO LEARN
Last year, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to uproot our family and move to Charlottesville, VA. To be more specific, we moved to Albemarle County Public Schools. A lot went into this decision to change jobs, change the kids’ schools, sell our house and build a new one. The driving reason […]
My Advice for Incoming Teachers
Veteran teachers always look back on their early years and say: “If only I knew then what I know now about this profession.” Or “I was so naive as a first year teacher.” I think that to the high school senior choosing a college major, or the college student narrowing down their degree […]