Category: Uncategorized

Some years ago I looped from fourth grade to fifth grade with my students. Many friends, both teachers and non-teachers, were concerned that this move would be rough, as I was pregnant at the time. Again and again I heard, “Won’t it be a lot to learn a new curriculum?” My response was always, “Probably, […]

Today was nonstop, but that’s not really remarkable. That’s pretty much par for the course as an elementary school teacher. What’s making today stand out for me is how clearly it illustrates the challenges teachers are facing. Today feels a bit like a textbook example of what it means to be a teacher in 2022. […]

It is easy to see the tough moments, the errors made, the disappointments. They’re also hard to forget. The high points feel good in the moment, but don’t always stick with me as strongly as their counterparts. I have to be conscious of that and focus on the wins so that I can keep going. […]

Dear parents and families, We’ve been a long time in this pandemic. You’ve had your kids at home a lot more than you could have anticipated. Your kids are struggling with all the things they want to do and can’t because of COVID. You are probably feeling the same. I’m right there with you. You […]

Heads up, this is not education related. I don’t think. I’m honestly not certain yet. I woke up this morning nearly an hour before my alarm was set to go off. I’m getting older so waking up in the middle of the night isn’t that unusual. Normally I can use a strategy to slow my […]

This year, like last year and the year before that, is rough. Like many, probably most, teachers I am feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Knowing that and being many years into my teaching career, I am trying to find the positives and wins in my daily professional life. I don’t manage it daily. Yet. Yesterday afternoon […]

On twitter, Jenn Binis frequently shares #PairedTexts. They fascinate me. Right now, I feel like I’m living a #PairedText. A school board not too far from me has been discussing burning books and fired their superintendent in a way that is very likely to get them sued. The governor who was inaugurated on Saturday has […]

I absolutely adore Bud Hunt. Which is likely an odd thing to say about someone I’ve spent very little in-person time with since I met him more than a decade ago at Educon. But it’s true. His brilliance is only one of the reasons for adoring him, but it’s what I’m focused on right now. […]

I woke up at 3:00 Friday morning in a panic. I had been dreaming that my two teenagers and I were in something of a post-apocalyptic world. My kids were about four years younger, I think, than they are now. So my youngest was about ten in this dream. We were alone, just the three […]

This is our first week back after more than three weeks away from school. That time just happened to coincide with the serious omicron surge that is happening right now. For my third graders, this pandemic has been a significant percentage of their living memory. The majority of their lives that they remember have been […]