Have you ever terrorized ants? I’m not talking about being malicious or cruel—I just think that ants are fun to mess with sometimes. When it comes to Mother Nature, ants are one of those tiny creatures that really amaze me.
Read More
Under Construction
Coming back to fifth grade in the midst of common core meant greater rigor, high expectations, and new ways of teaching cognitive processes. I was nervous that maybe I would not have the game to rise to this new
Read MoreSelf-Doubt
In 2007, I achieved National Board Certification. In 2007, a National Board Certificate was valid for ten years. At ten years, I would renew my certificate, or go through renewal. In 2007, the idea of the renewal process seemed far
Read More
Just a Word, Please?
I really have something on my mind lately: Teachers need time for professional conversations with colleagues. I’m not talking about mandated conversations chosen by administrators for PLCs or Professional Development. I’m talking about giving teachers unstructured time to develop strategies around
Read MoreDigressions, Gripes, and My Hypocrisy
I’m going to start with a digression (a pregression?). I get poems stuck in my head, just like music. Two frequent culprits are from Kurt Vonneget’s novel, Cat’s Cradle: Lion gotta hunt, Bird gotta fly, Man gotta sit and wonder, Why?
Read MoreWho Gets the Biggest Piece?
A huge blow struck the charter school system in Washington this past week. A Washington supreme court ruled that charter schools are unconstitutional . This comes pretty close after a decision in North Carolina in which their Supreme Court ruled
Read More
Why I Stay: This Battle is Worth It!
A few years ago, I heard a Dana Goldstein interview on NPR about her book, called The Teacher Wars: A History of the Most Embattled Profession. The title alone was so intriguing! I was captivated by a mind-blowing discussion of
Read More
At What Cost?
One of the tasks of this blog site is for the bloggers to write about how policy affects practice. I can not think of a single policy that impacts my job as much as budget cuts. Being in Arizona, budget
Read MoreWhy Ms. Deahl Stays
At the beginning of the school year, many of us bloggers were asked to explain why we stay in the teaching profession. I posed this same question to many of my colleagues. Carrie Deahl is a National Board Certified high
Read More