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.
Tag: education
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One of the most important things that I felt I should do as an elementary teacher was to encourage children to learn to love reading. Along with the myriad of skills needed to learn the process of reading and comprehending, finding what clicked a child’s interest to learn to read was the catalyst. Interest built…
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Some times, the serendipitous nature of the universe awards you with an invaluable gift of a lifetime. For me, that gift was being partnered with a Ellen Lisi, a mentor long before mentors were “invented”, and a treasured friend. In 1987, my first year as an elementary teacher, Ellen became my partner teacher in second…
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I was a high school student in the late 1960s. Education was a lot different back then, though not necessarily the “Leave-it-to-Beaver” high school experiences depicted on television. Starting with my junior year, our English classes switched up a bit from the standard fare English coursework to mini courses. I don’t know who came up…
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I was and I am devastated by the results of yesterday’s election. It appears that a person who to me represents all that we, as humans, should avoid is the selection to lead the United States. In case you missed it, I am including this clip from Jon Stewart. I think there is a lot…
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After teaching nearly 30 years, I must admit I am totally confused by the debate over reading instruction. Maybe I am missing something? Balanced Literacy vs. Scientific Methods? Over the last 10 years of my long career, I observed that whenever the a specific reading program was dictated, success, often defined by scores on standardized…
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The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. ALAN WATTS Alan Watts Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/alan_watts_386511 This quotation has a particular resonating truth for me. No longer able to make sense of the changes in our world politics,…
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Maybe you’ve seen this awesome YouTube video floating around. If not, take a listen to the PS22 Chorus led by Gregg Breinberg, singing with Andy Grammer. Look at the faces on the students who are about as engaged as any child can be. These are fifth graders and they are not only having the time…
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Did you happen upon KQED’s interview with San Francisco educator, Michael Essien, principal of MLK Middle School? If not, here’s the report which includes an audio of the story. So many of us in education feel the pressure to keep teaching the prescribed curriculum even when our students, our kids, are telegraphing their emotional response…
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I started reading Meditations from the Mat this weekend. The writings are daily practices in mindful meditation written by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison and had come highly recommended by a group of yogis I’ve encountered in an online group. In explaining his own yoga journey, from a weekend retreat at Kripalu to yoga teacher training,…
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Our good friend and UTL president Paul Georges shared this article with me this morning: “Is a good teacher one who makes kids happy or one who raises test scores“. If you read nothing else in this post, migrate to EdWeek and read that article. For educators, this is the question above all questions because…
After An Educator's Journey 