The inevitable is coming later this month. Arizona standardized assessment results will be released. We know the preliminary data is dismal showing most Arizona students are not proficient in reading or math. I have unsettled feelings about the score release
Read MoreWho is driving the bus?
Do you get on or do you get left behind? Well, it depends on who is driving the bus? Have you ever sat in a professional development and thought “Why on earth am I here?” or “Could the rest of
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Rookie Moves
Now that I’ve returned to the classroom, people keep asking: “How is it going?” And my answer has been pretty consistent: it’s wonderful, but it’s also kicking my proverbial rear end! It’s not like I forgot how complicated teaching was,
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“Do You Have To Leave Us?”
“Mrs. Maloney, why do you have to leave us?” Her big gray eyes looked up at me pleadingly as she hugged me tight across the middle as if to stop me from exiting the classroom door. My heart was torn
Read MoreThe Mirage: Are We Flailing?
My last post discussed the Mirage Report and the subsequent fallout. This one is not about the report, but it is about the fallout. Which, I suppose, still makes it about the report. But stay with me. As I’ve
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Why I Stay
I hope my readers will indulge me with this one. The Beatles play on vinyl in my earliest memories, and I have always enjoyed the playfulness, surreality and yet wisdom of their lyrics. On the topic of why I continue
Read MoreEducation…Job or Legacy?
I recently found a synopsis of an article that Dr. Richard Leblanc, from York University, wrote for The Teaching Professor. The article stated his top ten requirements for good teaching. He stated that good teaching is: 1) about passion, 2) about
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Defeat Doesn’t Live Here
Defeat. I think of this word and I think pain, rejection, frustration, and FAILURE. As I grow as a teacher leader there are times when I could let defeat consume and define me. As educators we experience highs and lows,
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Why Do I Teach?
On the third day of school I asked students, “Besides money, what is the one thing that you personally have to get from a job?” I thought it was a good question to begin our unit on career explorations. I
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