As this school year got underway, I was once again struck by the relationships we build at my small high school. The kids come back and we already know them. Sure they may have grown an inch or so, or their hair
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Why Do I Teach?
On the third day of school I asked students, “Besides money, what is the one thing that you personally have to get from a job?” I thought it was a good question to begin our unit on career explorations. I
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Questioning RIF Realities in AZ: Professional Capital Part I
This fall, Arizona schools began the year with approximately 1,000 job openings for teachers. Stories on Arizona’s teacher shortage have abounded in recent months. Despite the need for quality educators in our state, did you know that hundreds of teachers
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Why I Stay
My kindergartners are all working productively at their learning stations and the room hums with quiet, respectful discussion. I’m standing in the middle of the room, observing our progress proudly. It’s early in the year to have our routine down
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Rigorous LOVE!
Over the past two months, I’ve been thinking about education from a completely different angle: The angle of a new mom. My daughter was born in late June, so my husband and I have been carefully searching for the perfect
Read MoreImportant but Misrepresented?
I had every intention of writing about back to school, a theme that is being beautifully discussed by my fellow bloggers at Stories from School. But then a proverbial bomb was dropped on the world of professional development in the form
Read MoreFrom a Shell to a Home
Have you ever been faced with the chore of moving your room year after year? It can be tedious, time consuming and difficult, but full of amazing opportunities. This is my fourth classroom move in four years. At the
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The Pressure is On
Year 6 of 7 in Kindergarten, and the PRESSURE is on. Not the pressure of change, mandates, or parents rather the pressure that consumes me, is the pressure imposed by my students. The pressure to be better than I was the
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There and Back Again
How I left Teaching and Why I Came Back and Stay Tomorrow, I get to meet my 11th group of students. I have been doing this profession for ten years now and I am still excited for every new group
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