A huge blow struck the charter school system in Washington this past week. A Washington supreme court ruled that charter schools are unconstitutional . This comes pretty close after a decision in North Carolina in which their Supreme Court ruled
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“Do You Have To Leave Us?”
“Mrs. Maloney, why do you have to leave us?” Her big gray eyes looked up at me pleadingly as she hugged me tight across the middle as if to stop me from exiting the classroom door. My heart was torn
Read MoreThe Mirage: Are We Flailing?
My last post discussed the Mirage Report and the subsequent fallout. This one is not about the report, but it is about the fallout. Which, I suppose, still makes it about the report. But stay with me. As I’ve
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Why I Stay: This Battle is Worth It!
A few years ago, I heard a Dana Goldstein interview on NPR about her book, called The Teacher Wars: A History of the Most Embattled Profession. The title alone was so intriguing! I was captivated by a mind-blowing discussion of
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Why I Stay
I hope my readers will indulge me with this one. The Beatles play on vinyl in my earliest memories, and I have always enjoyed the playfulness, surreality and yet wisdom of their lyrics. On the topic of why I continue
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At What Cost?
One of the tasks of this blog site is for the bloggers to write about how policy affects practice. I can not think of a single policy that impacts my job as much as budget cuts. Being in Arizona, budget
Read MoreEducation…Job or Legacy?
I recently found a synopsis of an article that Dr. Richard Leblanc, from York University, wrote for The Teaching Professor. The article stated his top ten requirements for good teaching. He stated that good teaching is: 1) about passion, 2) about
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Defeat Doesn’t Live Here
Defeat. I think of this word and I think pain, rejection, frustration, and FAILURE. As I grow as a teacher leader there are times when I could let defeat consume and define me. As educators we experience highs and lows,
Read MoreWhy Ms. Deahl Stays
At the beginning of the school year, many of us bloggers were asked to explain why we stay in the teaching profession. I posed this same question to many of my colleagues. Carrie Deahl is a National Board Certified high
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