The fresh feeling of a new year, and a clean slate, often brings my thoughts down memory lane for a moment. It reminds me to think of things I have learned, or ways that I have grown, and things that
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Back to School Nightmares
The nightmares always roll in like an angry storm system a few weeks before school starts. Students standing on their desks, unexpected observations by the principal, students not listening, being late to school, being unprepared, and angry parents are some
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May the Odds be Ever in Our Favor: Reopening Schools in the Midst of a Pandemic
You are an essential worker! If I have to be at work, then you have to be at work.” “One student or teacher death due to COVID is one too many!” “Going to school is what is best for kids.
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Welcome to my Virtual Classroom!
I thought I was technology literate, but then the pandemic hit and I, like all teachers, had to make the transition to teaching online. Wow, was I in for a surprise. To successfully teach in a virtual setting, teachers need
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A Bird’s Eye View of Virtual Learning
8:27 a.m. Mrs. Gawlowski enters an empty classroom, frantically running to her computer. Her mask is falling off her face, and her glasses are foggy. Her hands are full of junk she insists on bringing with her every day, although
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Public Schools Matter!
I think COVID-19 has made us aware of things that were taken for granted such as grocery store workers, the freedom to leave your house whenever you wish, having a job, and a teacher’s role in a child’s life. Many
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Spring Break is in the Air
I am counting down the minutes until Spring Break, which for me officially begins in 480 minutes! Between finalizing grades, holding Parent-Teacher conferences, serving on a district committee the past two weeks, doing my actual job of teaching my students,
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Rising From the Ashes
The room is abuzz with National Board candidates and coaches conversing quietly on a Saturday morning. The date is January 25, 2020, and today is my first Coaching Saturday as a coach instead of a candidate. I had been looking
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