I love field trips but I never take them because the logistics are a giant pain when you teach 100 kids a day. That’s why, when the flyer for the ASU College of Engineering Girls’ Make-a-Thon popped into my email
Read More
An Interview with Jamie Valderrama on Compassion Fatigue
Jamie Valderrama works as the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Integrative Health Initiative and as a lecturer for ASU. She has developed curriculum, taught stress management courses, and now oversees 40 sections of stress management courses at ASU each semester. Prior
Read More
What Makes a Good Teacher?
“So, a belief you hold is that you cannot be both a good teacher and a good mom.” If my life were a television show or a movie, there would be a dramatic sound effect like glass breaking or a
Read More
Picky Eaters: What Happens When Kids Don’t Gobble Up Our Passion
As I write this blog, I’m munching on delicious homemade mac and cheese. I made quick white cheddar sauce and tossed in peppers, mushrooms, and peas. It’s topped off with more cheese and a few pieces of crunchy dried jalapenos.
Read More
How I Keep Kindergartners Engaged
Keeping kindergartners engaged is a tough task for any teacher. A friend of mine, a great kindergarten teacher, just told me a story about a class of his. As he was giving extended instructions, one of his students blurted out, “Boooorrrriiiinnggg!”
Read More
Be a Superhero
Who’s your favorite superhero? I’ve never thought of this question as an icebreaker, but my nephew Aiden has had this figured out for quite a while. One catch, you can’t pick The Hulk, that’s his favorite and no one else is allowed
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More
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
Read More