Category Archives: Teacher

Teachers and administrators are first responders too. 23 years ago, the term first responders became an unfortunate part of the cultural vernacular.  As the pandemic played out, “first responders” entered the zeitgeist once again. People venerate first responders – those … Continue reading →

The very heart of Star Trek is education. On September 8, 1966, the fabric of American fiction changed when a television series called Star Trek premiered. From the relatively humble beginnings of a tv show that was canceled not once, … Continue reading →

Teaching is noble work. Teaching is praiseworthy work. Teaching is God’s work. Some things I have learned in 32 years in education: True. Also true. The “can be” operative in the above conclusions and the opposing truths indicate the duality … Continue reading →

This was the best education I ever got. “What is your goal for us?” or “what is your goal for the school?” or a variation of those interrogatives are fair questions to be asked of a principal new to her … Continue reading →

Please join me in this post for an annual tradition: the beginning of school playlist! Readers of the blog may remember that,  years ago, my good friend and educational leader Sean Gaillard (author of The Pepper Effect – great reading … Continue reading →

Doing some truly rough math (the only math I know how to do), I am confident in saying that I have written over 500 posts about education over the past nine years. This post officially begins the 10th year of … Continue reading →

In the late May morass, we are likely to forget to acknowledge to ourselves that we have, in fact, changed lives. Late May in schools is rife with many emotions. Teachers and administrators are ready to bid the year farewell … Continue reading →

…for the love of your students, remind them of this, repeat this, tell them this: “You can succeed.” Any way we look at the calendar, we must inevitably reach one conclusion: the calendar is winding down on the school year.  … Continue reading →

You know what they forgot? They forgot to bring the funny. There is a wonderful moment in the terrific show The West Wing when speech writers Sam Seaborn and Toby Ziegler are developing material for the President of the United … Continue reading →

Schools which are focused on the product and not the process are preparing students for a world that is long past. As we approach the end of this school year, the thoughts of many students turn ever more pressingly to … Continue reading →