Award Winning Teacher – International Speaker – Author
School districts, states and even the Federal Department of Education have rolled out initiative after initiative after initiative in schools. These initiatives come with programs, protocols, procedures and all have intentions of improving student learning at some level. Many of them are conceived with the best intentions in mind. The creators of any one of […]
Continue ReadingWhether we like it or not, kids are always watching. As a parent, kids are always watching what we do and say. Same can be said about teachers and our daily interaction with students. This is an immense responsibility; one I have been reflecting greatly on lately in both my role as parent and teacher. […]
Continue ReadingLast 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 Reading