Survival. Crying in the car. Rejoicing at the most minor milestones. Finding colleagues to lean on. Making teacher friends who get it. Late night grading. Wine. Chocolate. Crawling toward the finish line into summer break. The first year teaching has been called many things. One thing I’ve never once heard it described as? Easy. We… Continue reading The First Year
Month: September 2019
Letting Go of Control in Your Classroom
When I talk to other teachers about personalized learning, I always share how difficult it was for me at the beginning (and sometimes it still is). There are always challenges with anything, especially when it’s new, and personalized learning is no different. This philosophy allows for a lot of student freedom, self-regulation, and choice, which… Continue reading Letting Go of Control in Your Classroom
Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
Writing is hard. The published piece at the end is a source of pride, a beautiful work, but it didn't start out that way. There was a process that went into that finished work. There was a revisiting of the message, the words themselves, that happened before it went out to the audience. That's how… Continue reading Modeling Writing (and Revision) in Your Classroom
Involving Families in the Classroom
Families are an important aspect of a child’s education. Outside of the classroom experience, they are the most influential factor in how the student approaches learning, growth, and school as a whole. Because of this families should have real involvement the classroom experience too. I’m talking more than just being a ‘room mom’ or visiting… Continue reading Involving Families in the Classroom
Curriculum Coffee 