A student at my school died this week. Because of the timing of the universe and how news travels these days, we had to tell them all their classmate had passed. I had to look out at a room of 30 middle schoolers and tell them that a child that was in school yesterday would … Continue reading Nothing Prepares You
When Do We Give Up?
How long should you try something before it's enough? Before you can say "Well, I gave this my best go, and it's not going to work out?" I've been thinking about this a lot lately. As I've written about before, I take aerial arts classes. I am not very good at it. I've been at … Continue reading When Do We Give Up?
Should You Blog?
I've kept a blog on and off for about 10 years now. I've had this blog for about half of that time, though I'm hit and miss on keeping up with posts. I love to talk to people about starting a blog, and I often hear questions like What if no one reads it? What … Continue reading Should You Blog?
Let’s Make Time for #ReflectionEDU
Summer is a great time for educators to take a step back from their processes and think about what's working and what isn't. For me, I usually set lofty goals about what I'll accomplish over the summer. This year it was to read all of the books currently on my desk. I just counted - … Continue reading Let’s Make Time for #ReflectionEDU
What counts as reading?
"You're in 8th grade, and that's not an 8th-grade book." I can picture myself in the library, looking at a student with a book in their hand, saying, "Choose something else." When I first started as a teacher, I had certain thoughts about what literacy instruction was supposed to be. About holding students to "high standards". … Continue reading What counts as reading?
Just Jump In! – #BookSnaps
When I realized it was #NoWorksheetWeek, I decided to jump right in with something I've been thinking about for awhile - #BookSnaps. (This idea originated with Tara Martin - Check out her website for the details.) At this point in the year, I have spent a lot of time working with my striving readers on the skills they … Continue reading Just Jump In! – #BookSnaps
You have to know what’s important to your people.
I was at a meeting a few weeks ago where a few leaders from my school's community were presenting. One thing the mayor said stuck with me. "You have to know what's important to your people." This got me thinking about what is important to my students. So - I made a three-question survey to … Continue reading You have to know what’s important to your people.
