Summer is officially here as evidenced by an adorable sleeping baby strapped to my chest and the Spurs rolling in the NBA Finals(1). My first year as a general ed teacher is done. My first year of teaching with the STAAR Geometry test is done. My third year is in the books with the fourth…
read more »I came across a TFA corps member’s old letter of intent, and in addition to showcasing some grade A positivity pablum, it featured this utterly disgraceful passage: I’ve been following Teach for America for several years. Alum (sic) like Michelle Rhee(1) at DC Public Schools or KIPP founders Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin have used…
read more »For about a month now I have been on a slow decline into that blessed, peaceful, state of “Summer.” After my final IEP meeting of the year, squaring away all of my boys’ summer school plans, one last round of progress monitoring, reading assessments, and data reporting, my brain has concluded that it is just…
read more »If you will forgive the drought between posts, I did actually begin this one last month and it’s been sitting in the drafts folder ever since. But I think today is as good a time as any to revive it due to the latest legislative news. Among other things, House Bill 5 eliminates the requirement to…
read more »As I prepared to return to school on Monday night following a weekend of cook-outs, lawn games, sales, and an extra day of sleeping in, I thought back to our first 3-day weekend this school year, Labor Day. What has changed since September? Why is it better? How do I know its better? How have…
read more »This year’s April showers not only brought the budding of May flowers, but also many other awesome joys! First let’s admire the natural beauty of Spring… Pause and “smell” the… flowers: And now onto the highlights of an Awesome April: From successfully proctoring the PSSA to a group of 22 nervous 3rd graders, as well…
read more »Dear Teach For America / Teach For Us blog friends, Due to a combination of circumstances out of my control, I had to leave the 2012 corps a few months ago. However, I am still in the Teach For America program, and the joys of teaching have been so incredible that I look forward to…
read more »While the NCAA’s March Madness may just be reaching it’s grand finale round of games, I am declaring that the “Madness” that had inhabited Room 306 during the past month is over. We survived. I am not exaggerating when I say we really had reached a state of madness by the time our blessed Spring…
read more »The Texas House of Representatives just voted to reduce the number of end-of-credit exams required for graduation from a record 15 (five each year from freshman to junior year) to just five. The push to scale back our testing regime came from all corners of the state and enjoyed near-unanimous support from both parties. The…
read more »I got an e-mail from TFA linking to a blog post on Teacherpop(1) entitled “Feel Unprepared To Teach? You’re Not Alone.” Based on the headline, I thought that this pertained to my interests. The author, citing the Gates and Walton-funded National Council on Teacher Quality’s State Teacher Policy Yearbook report for 2012, begins by showing…
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