This post is mostly a reminder to myself, but if you are an educator like me you might appreciate this message as well. It’s that time of summer when “Back to School” ads seem to start popping up almost everywhere. When I was a teacher this signaled the time when I started thinking more heavily
Busy. Busy. Busy. That one word has permeated my vocabulary since I took over as interim principal a few months ago at Emerson Elementary School. I’m not just talking about myself. With state and district testing, about a million end of the year activities as well as normal teaching responsibilities I’ve watched my staff and
Every morning I have about a thirty-minute commute to work from my home in Wheaton. Most mornings my routine is pretty similar. After giving Alexandra a big hug and a kiss (sometimes 4 or 5 depending on what mood she’s in), I hop in my car, order my morning coffee and listen to whatever music
I’ll admit it. George Couros is one of my favourite (spelling intended) people in education. Not only is he skilled at telling a captivating story that can cause both tears and inexplicable laughter, but his ideas about education are thought-provoking and real, grounded in his own experience or ideas he has recently read about or
I wouldn’t really describe myself as someone who cries easily, but as the closing melody of “A Million Dreams” began to play I found myself overcome with emotion, unable to hold back tears. Looking out across the audience of parents, students, and teachers I realized that the moment that we had been planning for months
Data. It’s a four letter word. Especially in education. It has been argued by many to play a pivotal role in increasing student growth. The four key PLC questions from DuFour are centered around it. Even Danielson includes it as part of Domains, 1, 3 & 4 of the teacher evaluation rubric. And yet, when many
Curious. When you have a moment to yourself throughout the day, (driving in the car, running on the treadmill, when the sun is rising and you’re just waking up) what does your mind go to? In the past, it’s been anything from how can I get ALL of my students excited about reading to imagining
I’ve had a lot of great conversations since starting this blog about teaching and coaching and how the two are intertwined. Two of the questions that have come up a lot are How do you ACTUALLY teach like a coach? What does that look like in real practice? This has gotten me to reflect about my
If you were to ask me why I got into education I would tell you a simple fact: I LOVE working with students. Seeing their eyes light up when they learn something new. Building on their strengths. Showing them they can achieve ANYTHING. Except when I really think about it, I don’t know that ALL
Audio version of this post. Email at 9:30 p.m. Sunday night. Tomorrow school is cancelled due to inclement weather. (Cue the cheering) Email at 9:45 p.m. All admin must still report to fulfill their contractual obligation. (Cue the booing) Not gonna lie. That last email didn’t exactly make my night, BUT it did lead to
