I’ve made it clear to the universe and my family and friends that this will be my last year teaching in a traditional classroom in a traditional high school. Something else awaits and, while I know not yet what it is, I know that something exists. Something that does not deplete this introvert’s energy so… Keep Reading
Love.
(Update: in 2020 we made an intentional change to the name of the group discussed in this post. Story on that coming up soon) I started the hashtag #theteachertribe and, soon after, the Facebook group because it felt right. One of those things you do because you can’t not do it. So I did. Then last… Keep Reading
Today, We Work.
Friends, yesterday we held space. Today, we work. I got an email from a teacher I used to coach who works in the south. His class is about a 50/50 split in which presidential candidate they and their families supported. The pro-DT half told him they are not racist or sexist and they hate that… Keep Reading
Serving One Another, Serving our Students
A note to a teacher I coach. A note to all of us. #theteachertribe Hey Love. Hold space for them to share their worries. Reassure them that they are safe with you. That you love them. That everyone you know loves them and they are safe with them too. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote… Keep Reading
My Two (or Five) Cents
So many of us are so tired this time of year. The tape plays, “I’m so tired…I’m so tired of being tired…I’m so tired of not making any progress…I’m so tired of this sh%#ty system…” and it goes on. And on. It can wear on anyone, most especially someone in charge of the care and… Keep Reading
Courage or Comfort
Note: This post was originally written in July of 2019. I write this post at a very particular moment in time. The leaders in positions of power in my country are perpetuating hate in ways I could not have imagined three short years ago. It is a time of both reckoning and rumble, a time… Keep Reading
Third Thankful Thursday
As of tomorrow, school’s out and summer’s in. For teachers, this is what we call New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow the floors will get swept and the cats will get brushed and the produce will get washed and put away. Next we’ll clean our classrooms and pack up all the work we’ll take home with us… Keep Reading
We’re a Part of a Village
…and it sure feels good when parents recognize it. A Love Letter to Our Children’s Teachers
Learn or I Will Hurt You
This threat of learning “or else” is a ridiculous notion. Yet I wonder if that’s what schools do to kids every day. I’ve been guilty of this punishment dance myself (do your homework or I will make you stay into your break) and I do it because it works. But does it really? When kids… Keep Reading
The Miracle of the 3-Hole Punch
In the copy room this morning, a miracle happened. Someone had come in during the dark of night and lubricated the 3-Hole Punch. You mean to tell me I can hole punch 20 papers at a time and they lift right out? Without pleading? Without banging it against the table? Hallelujah and Amen because this… Keep Reading
