Award Winning Teacher – International Speaker – Author
Last night I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Edu-All Stars podcast with Chris Kesler and Todd Nesloney. It was a great conversation and the work these guys are doing to share the EduWins amongst our ranks is tremendous. I encourage you to take a look at their site and the massive […]
Continue ReadingAre we pushing back enough? Lately I’ve been pondering this question on a lot of different levels. For starters, as a teacher there are a lot of things that we do or have done to us that we don’t question or push back against. To be clear I don’t think of pushing back as being […]
Continue ReadingRecently I had the opportunity to visit Kailua High School on the island or Oahu. My good friend Dr. Chad Miller is the Philosopher in Residence at the school. Chad, in his role with the University of Hawaii, trains teachers on how to use a program called Philosophy for Children […]
Continue ReadingThis school year my district, as many across the country are, is in full adoption and implementation of the new Common Core Standards for ELA. We have taken a very systematic approach of breaking down the standards and fitting them into the context of our school district. The groups of teachers involved in this process […]
Continue ReadingBecause I said so. As a parent I will admit I have used this explanation for things I have asked my sons to do. It is the catchall phrase meaning, “don’t ask me why and just do what I told you to do.” The other day in class I was speaking with my students about […]
Continue ReadingAs another school year draws to a close I always like to look back and reflect on the year. For me this was an especially difficult and trying to school year. The students that I worked with although rewarding, were often challenging and testing me in many ways I had not been tested before. However, […]
Continue ReadingThe other night I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine on twitter. Over the course of the conversation I made the comment “adults are always the problem”. I said it half jokingly and even made a side comment and promise to use it in my next presentation. However, as I think […]
Continue ReadingRecently, I was interviewed by a former student who is now studying to be a teacher. I have been interviewed by college students who are preparing to be teachers numerous times before. One of the questions I always get asked is what is my one piece of advice for a future teacher. In all of […]
Continue ReadingAre my students being adequately prepared? This seems to be one of those questions and conversations that always come up in school. How are you preparing your students? When they are in elementary school we are trying to prepare them for junior high. When they are in junior high we are preparing them for high […]
Continue ReadingIt is that time of year again. The time where we set aside a day and allow students complete control over their learning at our annual Innovation Day. Year one, two and three were great but this year might have been one of our most successful ones yet. As with Rocky, the 4th installment is […]
Continue Reading