“Hey, are you willing to try something in your classroom?” “Can I come in your class and test something out with your students?” “I just read about a really intriguing strategy, will you read it and see what you think?”
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Christmas in Phoenix 2019
I do not know how it happened, but somehow the Christmas Season has arrived! There are many that hold that the season has not started until after Thanksgiving. Yet, there is enough evidence in the stores, on streaming providers, and
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Practice What We Preach
True confession: blogging makes me nervous. It is the vulnerability of putting my thoughts into words and then putting those words on the internet for people to read and judge that worries me the most. It makes me so nervous
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Can I Still Teach?
This past summer, I joined one of my community’s Rotary Clubs. For years I had gone to Rotary as a teacher and requested funds for this or that project or to share this or that school update or student success.
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Spreading Kindness
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. -Dr. Maya Angelou Think about the emails you get as part of the school staff every day. Now, think about the emails you send every
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Putting Our Whines in Perspective
Hang around a group of teachers and it won’t belong before you hear one say something like, “Only a teacher is expected to grade 135 papers on their days off.” There’s always some truth to the complaint, but whenever I
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Lessons in Loss, Failure, and Apathy: The Dysart Override/Bond Election
Our bond and override election didn’t pass. Initially, I didn’t know what to say when everyone asked me in an incredulous tone “So…what happened there?” I’m trying not to be bitter about my hours of door-knocking. I’m trying to ignore
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Chaos or Calm? You Have Control
There’s a funny teacher shirt that always makes me smile. It has the words “Chaos Coordinator” blazon across the front in fancy glitter writing. Being a teacher sure feels like that, right? (especially if you teach preschool or kindergarten!) But
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School Buses and Sea Horse Chariots
It is the 30th (gulp) anniversary of The Little Mermaid this week. I want to describe a scene to you that copyright law precludes me from simply displaying. In Ursula’s lair, there are dozens, nay, hundreds of creatures that with
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Saving Seeds
The weather was gorgeous over the long holiday weekend, mid-80’s, and clear with a light breeze. I finished painting our chicken enclosure, disentangled armfuls of the overgrown bermuda grass from the asparagus patch, and peered at the hopeful sprouts of
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