I once tried to create a stop motion feature called "Phil in the Bubble." Here, the protagonist is a student who sits alone in a black and white silent classroom taking a test. Bubbles emerge from his multiple choice test
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Observations regarding the 2012 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher
The annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, based on surveys of teachers and principals conducted between October and November, 2012, has just been released. Comparing its contents with last year’s report, media coverage, and the Society for Human Resource
Read MoreNational Board Renewal
I became a National Board Certified Teacher on November 19, 2004. At that time I was a kindergarten teacher and quite frankly I thought I would always be a classroom teacher. I had no idea the journey of accomplished teaching
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“I Discovered Something Crazy!”
I went treasure hunting. I sought the definitive metaphor to contrast the power of all that is wrong in education with the power of all that is right. Yin Yang? Nah. A transformative professional development doesn’t need to be balanced
Read MoreWhat If? (#1)
At the Arizona K12 Center’s Teacher Leadership Institute last summer, the phrase of the week was “solutions-oriented.” Strategically, this angle is necessary for teachers to be heard in education reform. The stereotype of the bitter, worn-down, socially stunted school-marm in
Read MoreWhen Teachers Aren’t Invited
During my prep period today, I ran across a discussion between a few people on Twitter. It revolved around a Harvard Gazette article where five experts engaged in a discussion regarding how to "jump-start effective learning." I read the experts and found
Read MoreAnd…..? Part II
In my last post, I posed some questions about the NBC program and all that it purports to achieve. I wondered how or if it made folks better teachers, and how we would go about proving such a claim. I
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Reflecting on an old blog
Are You a Difference Maker? With the Super Bowl just a few days away I have been reflecting on my year. Wondering if I have been a difference maker for students, teachers, staff and parents. Several years ago I posted
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