Author: Josh Stumpenhorst

Socrates has been credited with uttering the phrase, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” This is an expression I have discussed many times with my good friend and fellow educator Chad Miller. In our many conversations we come back to the understanding that in life, reflection is crucial to growth and evolution of one’s […]

This month I officially started the next step in my teaching career. I have taken the position of Library Resource Center Director in the junior high which I have taught in for the past 13 years. Now some people might wonder, “What is a Library Resource Center Director and what do they do?” Basically, I […]

Differentiation is nothing new but certainly a topic of discussion in many school faculty, department and PLC meetings. Teachers are constantly being asked to differentiate everything in their classrooms. This ranges from lessons and activities to furniture and assessments. The goal of differentiation is to create a more personalized learning experience for each child and […]

For the past 13 years I’ve taught junior high students English and History. As I walked out of the school building this week after the final day of school something was different. In the fall, I will not be returning to the classroom where I have spent countless hours trying to motivate students to learn […]

If you read enough tweets, blog posts, education books or attend enough conferences you will likely come across many people who claim to have it all figured out. They will tell you schools are broken and the system needs to be changed. In some cases they’ll go so far as to say the entire institution […]

It is that time of year again. The weather is turning nicer. The days are longer. There’s the smell of young children still not yet understanding the need and value of deodorant and personal hygiene in the halls. Yes, I’m referring to the end of the year in schools across the country. It is often […]

Lots of people talk about trends and fads in education. There is always a discussion about which ones will stick around and stand the test of time. Most educators find themselves on one end of these discussions. On one hand you have the educators who are skeptical of any new idea or product. They are […]

The other day my son was on the phone with his aunt. It was a pretty typical conversation of how are things going and various topics of small talk. When my son told her he had played a soccer game that afternoon the first question she asked was, “did you score a goal”. I’m not […]