Have you ever had one of those REALLY GOOD ideas that gets you super excited? I’m talking about the kind of idea that could make your grade level or school really better–or an idea that might even improve education in
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The Requirement of Reflection
My teaching assignment changed this year, about five weeks into the first quarter. Due to a district policy of only counting “bodies in seats,” not enrolled students, our 5th-grade class sizes were huge (36 – 38 students in tiny portable
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“The Dream Catcher” or The Girl Who Championed Self Doubt
I’m not sure if she was solving multiplication problems with the Checkerboard or working in Read Naturally when I called her over. I noticed she took a deep breath and had that faraway look in her eyes, but she shook
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NCLB. For Reals.
At yesterday’s weekly whole-school meeting, the video announcements included an extended slideshow from the recent Annual Junior College Road Trip that took students on visits to the in-state universities and camping at the Grand Canyon. In the slideshow was a picture of Victor sitting at
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Why I Became a Teacher
I’m a teacher. Three little words that pack a punch when someone asks, “What do you do?” The recipient of those words usually replies with, “Oh, wow! What age group? I can’t imagine.” Along with these words, there is usually
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Dream On: Stressed Students at the End of DACA
Policies, local and national, shape our classroom practices, our instructional decisions and our interactions with students and colleagues. Sometimes, that connection is hard to see, especially when policies create a culture of silence which makes it difficult to track
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On Being a New Administrator
October is National Principals Month. To celebrate, I decided to interview the newest assistant principal at my high school. What a surprise for him! I have known Brady Krueger for a decade; I taught with him in the social studies
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Revising Results-Based Funding
Results-Based Funding With little fanfare last month, 288 schools in Arizona received the first payout of results-based funding, the largest education initiatives outlined in the Governor’s State of the State address. The initiative became SB1530, a $38.63 million bonus for
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