Do you ever feel a bit overwhelmed and frantic? If you are an educator, my guess is you said YES! Sadly, these feelings have become “normal” in our profession. We race around each day with little time to eat or
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All We Need is Love…
In these turbulent times, I was really inspired by the Az K-12 Homeroom article entitled, “Spreading Kindness in the Classroom.” Now, more than ever, teaching our young people civility inside and outside of the classroom is paramount. Throughout my many
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Public Schools as Infrastructure: Literally Rescuing Our Communities
Taking off out of Sky Harbor a couple of weeks ago on an early morning flight, I was struck by the clarity of the morning, and the beauty of the valley. Normally, I do not think of Phoenix as being
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Where are the Teachers?
This was going to be the year: the year where classrooms were going to be filled with certified teachers. Arizona, like many states across the country, relies on alternative certification allowing for teachers to earn their credentials while teaching. These
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Using My Teacher Voice
Last year I participated in our statewide teacher walkout. This experience changed my perspective in a myriad of ways. Marching to the capitol with thousands of teachers, administrators, parents, students, and supporters is one of the most memorable moments of
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Students in Motion
At the start of school this year, I started videotaping lessons for my National Board pursuit. Initially there was a lot of annoyance over how my voice sounded and how much I played with my hair, but then I started
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Redirecting Applause
No one will ever describe me as humble. Ever. Like Lady Gaga, I live for “the applause, applause, applause. I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause!” With that said, I one time misspelled “ego” in my school’s spelling
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Noisy Trees
I’ve always been obsessed with Aspen trees. When I was younger,they were the “noisy trees” because of the way the wind rattled off of the leaves. When I was in college at NAU, my only science class was an Environmental
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“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to write a complete sentence, we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to
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Sink or Swim – The First Years of Teaching
It’s not a secret, we need teachers in Arizona. There are thousands of positions that are either unfilled or filled with someone who hasn’t completed any formal teacher training. We need new teachers to continue to join this profession and
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