Blog - Page 35 of 49 - Spencer Education

Mar 14 2017

Six Strategies for Thriving as an Introverted Teacher

By John Spencer Teacher Life 3 Comments

I’m a hard introvert to spot. I can be loud and social and nobody sees how tired I feel as a result. I’m not shy. I’m often quick to engage in deep conversations. And yet, I am introvert to my core. Every minute I’m at…

Mar 07 2017

You Don’t Have to Wait to Innovate

By John Spencer Innovation, Podcast 3 Comments

When I was a first-year teacher, my team leader Nancy gave me this heaping box of classroom supplies. On the top, she placed a notecard with the words New Teacher Card. On the back of the notecard, she wrote a note explaining that I could play this…

Mar 01 2017

Want to Be More Creative? Try More Rest

By John Spencer Creativity Deconstructed 5 Comments

At first I thought it was a teacher thing. I would ask how someone was doing and they would say, “I’m really busy.” This was often followed by a description of how little sleep they had gotten and how much grading they had done. Teachers…

Feb 22 2017

Nine Things Minecraft Can Teach Us About Creativity and Learning

By John Spencer Creativity 5 Comments

A few weeks ago, my son convinced me to download Minecraft on my iPad. He’s been playing it for a few years now and is at that stage where he is entering portals, creating drop world and doing parkour. Meanwhile, I’m at the basic level….

Feb 14 2017

Treat Every Lesson Like an Experiment

By John Spencer Innovation 5 Comments

I’m just going to put it out there. I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to making videos. For the last six weeks, I’ve been experimenting and trying things out. Every time I get ready to publish a video, these fears swirl around…

Feb 11 2017

We Need Librarians More Than Ever Before

By John Spencer Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 7 Comments

It was about five years ago when a boy walked up to me and asked, "Hey Mr. Spencer, can you talk to the district and see if they'll open up the library over the summer?" "I don't think they can," I answered. "But the city…

Feb 07 2017

Who was the greatest teacher at Hogwarts?

By John Spencer Teacher Life No Comments

For our number one choice, we went with someone who is not actually a professor at Hogwarts. You guessed it. Argus Filch. That’s right, the mangy, angry caretaker of Hogwarts. You know, the guy with the cat? Okay, we didn’t choose Filch. We actually chose…

Feb 05 2017

Some of the Greatest Teachers Aren’t Nice (What Professor McGonagall Taught Me About Classroom Culture)

By John Spencer Teacher Life 4 Comments

Professor McGonagall isn’t very nice. But that’s actually what makes her so great. Confused? Let me explain. Being nice is about being pleasant and agreeable. Minerva McGonagall isn’t like that. She’s firm to a fault — like the way she refuses to let Harry go…

Jan 31 2017

Who Are the Hagrids in Your Building? How Are You Helping Them?

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life One Comment

At first glance, it would seem that Hagrid has all the makings of a great teacher. He is willing to take creative risks. He has a deep and passionate knowledge of his content area. And most importantly, he cares about his students. But unfortunately, content…

Jan 30 2017

Would you let your kids attend Hogwarts?

By John Spencer Podcast, Teacher Life 4 Comments

Warning: this post may contain spoilers. If you haven’t read the books, go do that now and then come back to this post later. Let’s just put it out there. Hogwarts is probably a terrible place to send your kids. It’s dangerous, and I’m not…