Every adult can probably think back to a time when they were a kid standing along a wall praying to the dodge ball gods that you would not be the last one standing there! And if you can’t remember that
Read MoreShould We Still Teach Analog Clocks?
On Friday, my colleague Steve Andre wrote in a staff wide email that he was considering teaching how to tell time on an analog clock to his seventh grade computer students because they can’t read the one on his wall
Read MorePlease Quit Taking Kids Out of Electives to Do Reading Intervention
I get it. Reading scores are low in my district. And it’s not just the scores. Kids are struggling to read. They’re struggling to answer questions based upon what they read. They’re struggling to think critically about what they read.
Read MoreExit Through the Front Door
A recent piece in the Atlantic Monthly titled “Why the Demise of Field Trips is a Bad Thing” (12/9/2014) reports that schools districts, nationwide, have slashed funding for field trips to make room for more “instructional time”. Unless a field experience
Read MoreThe Principalship: Noble Attempt, Daffy Model
You know the expression. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. No matter how many times the duck says it’s a swan, or those around the unnecessarily insecure creature agree with him… It’s still a duck. Not that many
Read MoreRigor Mortis
Collaboration. 21st Century Skills. Goal Setting. Inquiry. What do all of these have in common? They’re all buzz words that have been dusted off and brought back to the fore front of teacher speak over the last few years. (Collaboration
Read MoreStaying Mindful
Lately it has been easy to let the days and weeks slip away. October seems like it was months ago. November is just a few days from becoming December. Student-led conferences, report cards and progress notes, IEP and 504 meetings,
Read MoreArne Duncan Isn’t the Enemy
Earlier this week, I had a chance to give a short speech at the White House ConnectEd to the Future Summit. It was a surreal experience to get a chance to meet President Obama and Secretary Duncan in person. I was
Read MoreGuest Teaching as Civic Duty
Like jurors, substitute teachers should be drawn from the public as part of one’s civic duty, at least according to a colleague. Among other things, pulling subs from the public could create more awareness of life in our public schools, get
Read MoreSchool choice: An attack on traditional public schools
Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! (recent election). Now that I have that out of my system, this is a blog post about school choice. Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only person who thinks that “school choice” is a bad idea. Public discourse is
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