Throughout my teaching career, one thing has remained constant: what I’m trying to accomplish.  Back in the early 1990s there was no focus on test scores, thankfully.  My goal back then, as it is now, was for my students to like math more when they complete my class than they did when they began the…

This quote, courtesy of Cornel West, was shared in one of our final sessions of Induction. The session – entitled A Vision for Teaching As Leadership – was one of the more tangible, specific sessions we’re had throughout the past few days. I loved it. But more on that later. The end of Induction has…

I am at a complete loss for words to describe the past day and a half. It has been an experience unlike anything I could have ever imagined or prepared myself for. I went to an event today with a few Rice friends and I was asked, over and over, “How’s TFA going?” I didn’t…

Gary, That’s some fire-and-brimstone rhetoric you’re using, Gary. You’re absolutely right that pro-reform people like me are not doing a good job if we want to hide our tracks for when the reform-apocalypse is nigh. I’m not too worried though. I don’t like being deemed ‘moderate’ – because I think ‘moderates’ too often just vapidly…

I’ve found myself completely and totally blindsided by the difficulty of attending Induction & Institute on the same campus where I graduated from college. Graduation was pretty tough for me. I was completely and totally in love with my college experience, and it took time for me to be able to part gracefully with a…

In other words…The Night Before Induction. I fly to Houston tomorrow to pick up my car, move into my room at Rice, get settled, and try and get my life together before Induction begins. As a heads-up, I’m about to head into a communications blackout of sorts – though I’ll try to keep y’all updated…

I supposed it’s normal to be nervous heading into any sort of experience, much less one as intense and all-encompassing as Institute. Knowing that “this is normal” – while a little bit comforting – doesn’t provide me with much solace in my moments of panic. Now that Institute is almost here I find myself more…

TFA has two new co-CEO’s, Elisa Villanueva-Beard and Matt Kramer.  Since they have started a few months ago, they have been going on a ‘listening’ tour around the country.  Based on Tweets I had read about the tour and also from a montage video I had seen, the tone of the meetings could best be…

It’s official! One week from today, I’ll be in Houston, about to begin Induction. Over the past few weeks at home I’ve been trying to pin down exactly how I feel about Induction/Institute/TFA/life-after-college. But feelings are fleeting and hard to understand. I seem to seesaw between two extremes. Sometimes, I am terrified of Institute. I…