On Letterman the other day, the top 10 category was: Top 10 reasons I’ve decided to become a teacher. Reading the reasons were ten brand new 2013 corps members. So of course it is pretty ironic that out of all the perspective teachers in the country who could have been chosen from various education programs,…
read more »After a disappointing past couple weeks, my first group of final exams are in (Seniors take their exams a week earlier than everyone else) and as the last question on both my Physics and Physical Science exams, I asked the students this: Write at least three paragraphs describing what you think is the most IMPORTANT…
read more »Lately I’ve felt anything but consistent. Ecstatic? Sometimes. Crushed? Sometimes. Exhausted? A lot of times. It’s the end of year three and despite a mostly clean bedroom, despite the kaleidoscope sunlight dancing on my bed, despite long hair and big plans and so many things that push me up today I feel low. I’ve written…
read more »THIS BLOG POST WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Really. This relevation is earth-shattering, so be prepared. Take a breath. Get ready to have your perspective shifted forever. It all starts with a little something I like to call “megossip.” What is this term, you may ask? As defined by the Bainbridge-Ward Dictionary*, “megossip” is “(n.) information…
read more »“Leave your baggage at the door.” The past few weeks have been grueling for me — professionally and personally. I have been stuck in limbo, frozen just like the computers that my kids have tested on. As EOIs approached, I entered “triage mode,” prioritizing what was most important for my kids to succeed academically and…
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This weekend I was able to help administer tests to incoming scholars in order to determine if they would benefit from extra help during our summer school session. It made me see more than ever that educational inequity is plainly evident and is all around us. The literature says that students in high-need areas come…
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Day 150: Often, when I finally remember on Sunday that I haven’t written about Friday yet, I can only remember a blur of exhaustion and frustration and please let me finish this day and get to the bar as fast as I can. As usual, I don’t remember many details. However, the ones I do remember…
read more »Geoffrey Canada recently did a TED talk entitled ‘Our failing schools. Enough is enough.’ Canada is the president and CEO of The Harlem Children’s Zone and star of ‘Waiting For Superman.’ The premise of Harlem Children’s Zone is a good one. It serves to provide school and complete wrap-around services (health, mental health, nutrition, etc.)…
read more »I only have 19 days left in China and then I head back to the states. Soon after I set my feet on U.S. soil I am going to drive to the Delta. I know it is going to be a whirlwind. I cannot leave sooner because of my current job at an international school.…
read more »If given the opportunity, would a student hack a teacher’s Facebook profile? The normal Monday morning routine usually begins like this for my 7th graders. Me -> “Good morning class! Happy Monday-” Random Student -> “BOOOO! It’s not a Happy Monday!” or “Whatever Mr. E” It’s also obvious that they are looking to the end…
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