I want to make something clear before we dive into this topic. I made huge mistakes in classroom management as a teacher. I let certain disruptive behaviors go unchecked because I was tired and I didn’t want to put out another fire. I had moments…
In my hardest year of teaching, we had a toxic school culture after a leadership change. I had panic attacks in the parking lot. Eight teachers quit by December. I had a stretch of nineteen days where I had no prep period. For me, community,…
Roy Kent gets it. There’s a scene in the last episode of this season’s Ted Lasso where the team’s game plan doesn’t seem to be working. The coaches huddle together in Ted’s office and debate whether they should stick with the plan or try something…
Early on in my project-based learning journey, I made a vow to go 100% project-based. My students would learn everything through exploration and discovery. I would remain the guide on the side observing the process and helping out only when necessary. After leading students through…
For the last three weeks, I have been planning out this semester’s courses. I am teaching eight courses ranging from fully in-person to fully virtual but synchronous (using Zoom) to fully asynchronous and online with a combined hybrid approach mixed in. My goal is to…
This is part of a series on empowering readers. If you’re interested, I also have a self-paced course where I walk you through practical ways that you can empower your students in the reading process. Some people say that it’s better to ask forgiveness than…
This is part of a series on empowering readers. If you’re interested, I also have a self-paced course where I walk you through practical ways that you can empower your students in the reading process. The students filed into class discussing the latest TV shows…
This is the first article I’m doing in a summer series on Empowering Readers. If you want to take a deeper dive into the topic, I also have the Empowered Readers self-paced course that I co-created with literacy expert Bonnie Hamer. It officially launches today….
Nothing about this evening fit the description of a dance recital. Not the parking lot or the lawn chairs or the sound of the cars whizzing past. I sat in jeans and a sweatshirt, eating a slice of pizza off a thin paper plate as…
Teachers have been amazing this year. Many of them taught virtually for the first time ever and spent their free time learning new strategies and expanding their professional knowledge. Despite the lack of physical space, they cultivated a positive classroom community and proved that social…
