If you read my last post, you could see that I was ready for winter break. I gave myself to days of family time, reading non-school-related books and lots of hiking. This time was just what I needed because it
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The Best Shot We’ve Got
A few days ago, I had a really nice walk down memory lane—ASU Tempe Teachers College—while attending a meeting with my dissertation chair. I was overcome with feelings of nostalgia! As I walked around in my old footsteps, I thought
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Nobody Puts Teacher Leadership in a Corner!
If you’ve seen the movie, Dirty Dancing, you most likely remember the line, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” And if you remember this line, then you most likely remember how determined Patrick Swayze’s character was to place his beloved Baby
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This Just In
The US Department of Education just release some “good news”. The national graduation rate is at an all-time high and the achievement gap between white students and student of color has narrowed. Arizona educators would be well-advised, however, to take
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Schools = Huge Money Pits
Election season has come and gone. Several Arizona districts were quite happy as their overrides passed. Others were disappointed as their overrides died at the ballots. As a teacher, it’s easy to be furious at these voters. “Why don’t they
Read MoreTrading Bad Behavior for Good Behavior
Years ago, when they were still small, my boys were helping my wife make pot roast. The first thing she did was cut off four inches of good meat and throw it away. “Why’d you cut off that good meat
Read MoreSchool Funding—High Stakes Conversation
Have you noticed that we live in a society that compartmentalizes many aspects of our lives? I think this time of year is a perfect example: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday—it seems like there are catchy
Read MoreIs there really a shortage?
Is there really a teacher shortage? When I looked up the word shortage this is what I found: it is a state or situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts, and its synonyms are scarcity, dearth, paucity,
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High School Redesign will Never Be Enough
This past Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced $375 million in support for what he is calling “Next Generation High Schools”. These schools, according to the press release, will more effectively engage and empower students to meet the demands of today’s economy.
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Arguing With Students: It’s All About the Toothpaste
Two classroom management challenges came up recently in my engineering classes. In the first, two friends were horsing around and did some minor, easy to fix damage to their projects. Each claimed the other had started it. In the second,
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