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
Read MoreA Proper Thank You Note
I publicly thank our district for the level of support they gave our cohort throughout the National Board process. I hope that by doing this publicly, other districts might have a template they could follow in providing support to NBC candidates.
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Wigs, Statues, and the Rest
The state department of education grades schools based on student performance on a yearly standardized test. My school also monitors student progress in reading and math with quarterly assessments provided by a commercial testing service. Questions on the quarterly assessments
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Smart or Not Smart
I speak often about the ill effects of our testing culture on our students. My concerns tend to focus on the fact that when you give the “big test” five to six times a year, the significance of a student
Read MoreThe Four Hour Block: Instructional Ghettos
When I began as an ELL teacher, I thought I would be working with students who were trying to learn English. I quickly learned that the ELL Four Hour Block classrooms are essentially instructional ghettos where students who have not
Read MoreThe Four Hour Block: Bad Policy Creating Bad Pedagogy
"Mr. Spencer, why aren't you doing STEM projects with us?" a student asks. "We're doing some of them," I point out. "But not like you did when you taught eighth grade," she says. "True, but I had more freedom. I
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School Happens
We are now just over halfway through the school year and I realize no matter what we try to do, school happens. Although we mindfully schedule monthly fire drills to minimize disruptions, we have no control over those days that
Read MoreArizona, Just Be Careful.
This is not about politics, it’s about making decisions based on sound reason and, most importantly, not on fear. Because if history has shown us anything, it’s that reactions based on fear tend to be misguided, ineffective, and can even cause long-term damage.
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