After An Educator's Journey

Out of the classroom & into the universe

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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
I taught second, third and fourth graders. Teaching was my passion and joy for 30 years. And it didn’t hurt that they called me “mom” sometimes.

Month: January 2011

  • Circle and Stars

    I don’t remember when I first came across this game — I suspect it was during a Math Solutions Summer workshop week. For certain, it is included in several of the multiplication resources Math Solutions publishes, including the Third Grade Month-by-Month resource. It is empowering to find a game that children can just pick up…

  • More faces, more poverty

    First of all, I want to be clear that I understand poverty crosses over into many, many lives.  I live in an affluent town. A town with a food pantry that is routinely emptied.  People in this town are foreclosed upon, bankrupt, lose homes to tax liens. But what I know is the environment in…

  • Faces of Poverty

    If you look, if you don’t avert your eyes, you can see the effects of poverty and trauma on a person. One of “my” parents happened to come to the classroom this week so I could confirm she was indeed the parent of one of my students. This was so that the student could be…

  • It’s the Vocabulary, Part 2

    I marvel at the quickness with which second language learners pick up on the structure of English. Most of my kids give new constructs a try without too much fear of seeming like they don’t know what they’re doing.  As an aside — and as an Italian/French language” studier”, I wish I could be more…

  • There is nothing like a snow day!

    Okay, while I don’t like to have to make them up, we needed this snow day. Every school year needs one.  And this one is a lollapolloza. The weather dudes predicted it way in advance. And while no one believed them (the last 2 snowstorms were duds), they stuck to their forecasts. Our current superintendent…

  • Responding to bullies

    I don’t like being blindsided any more than anyone else. So this week when our school social worker relayed to me that one of my student’s parents said her child was being bullied, I was taken aback. As a Responsive Classroom, we continually work on appropriate social interactions. As part of the Making Meaning program,…

  • Overheard in the hallway

    They make me laugh some times. In all seriousness, one of my students asked me “Mrs. Bisson, is a hellno bad?” What? And my little friend repeated the question patiently. Now this student who came to us last year from Gambia, speaks with a heavily African influenced accent. Perhaps I’m not hearing her? So I…

  • Letting Go

    One of my New Year’s Resolutions – the list is really long! – is to try not to be such a control freak about what we do in the classroom. I’m letting go of the idea that I need to be at school before 6:30 am (our school begins at 8:30) and that I can’t…