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 […]
Tal Thompson
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 […]
THE LOST ART OF HUMAN CONNECTION
Over the past 18 years of my teaching career, I have noticed a number of changes in children. Many of those changes have been extraordinarily positive. Kids are accomplishing more today at a higher rate than what was previously deemed possible. The digital world has changed education, but it has also changed kids. While they […]
CAN EDUCATION TRIGGER A CATALYST MOVEMENT
A Vicious Cycle Sometimes I feel like we are surrounded by a surplus of people pounding on their chests and complaining about all the things that are wrong in the world. They seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle. They find a problem – it can range from a small problem at their job, […]