Jim has been teaching 1st grade for twenty years. Opportunities to work collaboratively with his colleagues should be as common to him as his annual bulletin-board-supply shopping trip, and yet over the course of his 20-year tenure, Jim has spent countless hours in, what he and most of his colleagues would describe as, “the fancy-man-in-the-suit-with-the-power-point trainings”. If Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule holds true, then Jim and so many others have become experts at feeling patronized and isolated.
Read MoreOne Question Secretary Duncan…
Monday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, discussed other countries outpacing America in the educational arena. Secretary Duncan reinforced his message with the following bold statement: “The great ideas in education are always going to come at the local level. What
Read MoreAre You a Difference Maker?
Are You a Difference Maker? Each August I look forward to a new school year, new students, new goals and new challenges. With the start of a new school year also comes a new football season. You might be wondering
Read MoreSurf or Drown: Let’s Hunt TTWWADI’s!
I recently had the good fortune to hear Ian Jukes share his thoughts on education's struggle to keep pace with "Exponential Times." I found his presentation particularly interesting because a book I recently read identified exponential growth as the most important
Read MoreJust Shoot Me.
At the most recent annual AZK12 Summer Leadership Institute, I sat with a small group of colleagues from around the state to discuss the future of public education. At least I would refer to them as colleagues. They would refer to me as “all-that-is-wrong-with-public-education” or, more simply, the devil.
Read MoreSitting… Waiting… Wishing…
Sitting… Waiting… Wishing… Think about our students, the students in your class, are they sitting, waiting, wishing? In the publication The Teachers of 2030, Barnett Berry’s statement, “The rules and tools of the No Child Left Behind Act have reinforced
Read More
Leave a Light on For Me
Legislation, budget cuts, propositions, neighborhood walks, phone banking, Reduction in Force (RIF) notices, political action, national standards, evaluation, accountability. What do all of these words and phrases have in common? They have all been heard by teachers during their
Read MoreThe (High) Cost of Teaching
Every August, I have two major worries. First, I worry about the students. Will they be well-behaved? Will they have basic skills like letter sounds and addition mastered? Will they need intereventions? Will I connect with them easily? These worries go
Read MoreHello, Market. You Have Some Explaining to Do.
I would like to set the record straight, in advance. I’m not a “hater.” I am not a jealous person, except when it comes to my envy of those who can enjoy an ocean cruise without vomiting. I understand the
Read More