Thankfully, the room had an entire wall of windows, so it didn’t matter that I couldn’t find the light switch. As the students arrived, they rattled off dozens of questions. I am uncertain if all of them made their way
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Being a Mentor Teacher
Growing the profession – this is the job of mentor teachers. It’s our job to make sure that novice teachers and student teaching candidates have what they need; materials, answers, support, advice, techniques, teaching tools, and anything else that might
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Where’s Waldo? The Hunt for Substitute Teachers Edition
Teachers have worn many hats for a long time. Some of these hats may have been expected, while others are a surprise. Teacher hat: check. Parent hat: unexpected check. Nurse hat: I never expected to do a lice check on
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Homecoming 2021, My First in 47 Years
On Saturday, September 28, 1974, Gerald Ford was president. Rock Me Gently topped the pop music charts, The Longest Yard would soon be number 1 in the box office, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was enjoying a 10 week run
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Below the Surface
Core Proposition 2: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.* This statement seems easy enough to interpret. Of course, a teacher has to know their subject area to teach it to someone else.
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Begin with the End in Mind
As I push forward and try to recreate or maintain levels of stability for myself, my family, and my class, I paused to observe if I was still on track with my students to help them develop into the ultimate goal
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Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Oh My! Teaching National Board Pre-Candidacy in my District
I am a ball of nervous and excited energy, bouncing on the tips of my toes. Internal dialogue is going on in my head ranging from “Don’t be too excited. You’ll talk too fast!” to “Let your passion and excitement
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The Elephant in the Room
Take care of yourself. Are you eating well? Do you have a hobby? What do you do for fun? We’ve all heard it. Take time for yourself. It seems that self-care is all the rage lately. I agree that setting
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Classroom Priorities
What is the most important thing you do as an educator? How do we figure out the answer to that question? Should we rank them? Should we prioritize them? How do we do everything? Here is a quick list of
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Begging Isn’t Enough
“If you care about schools, thank a teacher. And while you’re at it, please beg them not to quit.” Local journalist Steve Irvin tweeted this a few weeks ago. The same day Steve Irvin made his post, I sat quietly
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