Earlier this week, I had a chance to give a short speech at the White House ConnectEd to the Future Summit. It was a surreal experience to get a chance to meet President Obama and Secretary Duncan in person. I was
Read MoreGuest Teaching as Civic Duty
Like jurors, substitute teachers should be drawn from the public as part of one’s civic duty, at least according to a colleague. Among other things, pulling subs from the public could create more awareness of life in our public schools, get
Read MoreSchool choice: An attack on traditional public schools
Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! (recent election). Now that I have that out of my system, this is a blog post about school choice. Sometimes, I feel like I’m the only person who thinks that “school choice” is a bad idea. Public discourse is
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Connected Educator Month
Did you know that October was “Connected Educator Month”? On Saturday in an effort to avoid the work I initially sat down to complete I decided to look into this Connected Educator thing a bit closer. I initially came across
Read MoreTYLTS Day: One day, many lessons
Last week, I had the incredible privilege of hosting Representative Jonathan Larkin (District 30) at my school for the first annual Take Your Legislator to School Day (TYLTS). TYLTS Day originated under the leadership of Bobbie O’Boyle (Arizona Education Foundation)
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Institutional Mindsets and Whether We Stay in Education
Let’s see, there are one, two, three, four, hmm…, five, six, hmmm…, oh right, seven, eight,…, nine colleagues, at least, including me, who have changed their professional context in this last year. I’m not counting those who have had their professional context
Read MoreThese Are People, Not Ideas
Every person employed in public education is a civil representative of the public. It’s our job to serve the public. As a teacher, I might not agree with a parent’s decisions, but it is my duty to love that family
Read MoreThe Definition of Family Is Expanding
I was in my second year of teaching when a boy walked in with two older men for parent teacher conferences. "Which one is your dad?" I asked. "Both of them." "I'm so sorry," I said. I stumbled my way
Read MoreUnfinished Thoughts
Well, I missed my second deadline in a row and can't claim to have been too busy. Truth be told, I haven't been able to string together enough complete thoughts on a single topic to hit our 600 – 800
Read MoreThis Feels Like a Slap in the Face
For a second year in a row, the White House has taken Teacher Appreciation Week and added a privatized twist to it. It is, yet again, National Charter School Week. So, while parents are sending cookies and principals are setting
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