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: Teaching Life
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It is back-to-school time here in the City in which I taught for nearly 30 years. You can sense the anticipation in the breezes that flow down the Merrimack. There is an almost unidentifiable change to the air. We are changing seasons; we are changing routines. I loved the first day of school when I was…
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I was in the seventh grade when Miss Parker told me, “Donovan, we could put all your excess energy to good use.” And she introduced me to the sound of my own voice. In five minutes, Donovan Livingston the Student speaker at Harvard Graduate School of Education 2016 Convocation and Ed.M. candidate uses his voice…
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We were asked that very question during a faculty meeting presentation yesterday. Oh there are layers and layers of accountability in the education world in which we live: administrators, students, parents. Yes, we are all accountable to them. Family members, significant others? Those people too. My answer? I am accountable to me. I am accountable to me…
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Like lots of teachers, I am burnt to a crisp mentally by the time June arrives. Some years, this happens sooner – usually those are the years that can be identified as curriculum change years. This year has been a particular challenge. You see, this year, everything was new again. I have been teaching for a…
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“My” babies are ready to fly to coop. In just 2 days my third graders will bump up to fourth grade. We’re both nervous I think: they of the unknown, me of fear that the preparations we’ve made for this day haven’t been enough. It has been a privilege to work with these kids. At…
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Often I excuse my compulsive need to read and research all things educational with “I don’t have a life.” It is true that my child has long grown past needing me as a parent – I no longer do homework or nag to complete projects or carpool to sports. So I don’t have obligations or…
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I realize that this reference to a classic Bill Cosby routine makes me one big, giant fossil, but I can’t resist making a connection after this week. First of all, is should we all be building arks here in New England? Around my house we have 7 foot snowbanks created after the nonstop deluge of…
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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…
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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…
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It came to me as a sleep-filled message. One of my current charges is a real behavioral headache. This child has witnessed more trauma than anyone should, let alone anyone who is just 9 years old. And, as you might expect, the child has many behavioral tics that get in the way of his —…
After An Educator's Journey 