Ring, ring. “Hi! This is Mrs. Clark. I am your student’s English teacher.” In my 8th year of teaching, I feel comfortable picking up the phone, calling a student’s home, and saying those words. FINALLY. The act of calling families
Read More
Why I Chose to Maintain my National Board Certification During a Pandemic
I try to remember to look at the small pupil of the laptop camera instead of the grid of faceless names before me as I smile, wave and say hello. I am collaborating with a colleague to teach Hamlet to
Read More
The Camera Conundrum: On or Off?
“Mrs. Clark! Mrs. Clark!” shouted a student from across the Target parking lot a few weeks ago. I quickly turned around searching for the owner’s voice through a sea of cars and SUVs. A masked girl wearing a sweater, jeans,
Read More
Hello Hybrid! Here We Go!
WEEK NINE! I have survived nearly nine weeks of virtual learning. Honestly, I can’t believe it because it’s flown by. It had not flown by in the typical way a school year does, but nonetheless, it’s the end of the
Read More
Back to the Future – Where is Doc when you need him?
Think back, ALL the way back, to your first year of teaching. What do you remember? Were you as effective as you hoped to be? I often joke that I want to go back to apologize to those students, as
Read More
Reflection and Refinement in Remote Teaching
Are you constantly reflecting and refining your teaching practice? So many teachers have not gotten the support they need to effectively teach remotely. What we do have is the gift of purposeful reflection that leads to changes in our craft.
Read More
Simply Put: This is Hard
For the last three years, I have had the honor of blogging for the AZK12 Center’s Stories from Schools AZ. Each month I love having an outlet to pour my thoughts and ideas into. Each month it was easy to
Read More
Virtual Classroom Community. Can It Be Done?
You know the feeling. The one when you walk into a classroom where the students and teachers are working together towards a common goal. The room feels warm and inviting. The kids are participating because they trust their teacher and
Read More
Reflections of a Teacher Saying Goodbye
As my twenty-year classroom teaching career draws to a close, I feel the need to share my reflections and important things I’ve learned. There is nothing more important than classroom community. First and foremost, classroom community affects student behavior. It
Read More
Rearview Mirror
Let’s be perfectly honest, reflection at any time of the year is hard, let alone in the moment or in real time. This is especially true as the year winds to a close. In schools, we witness and experience extreme
Read More- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2