All I really ever wanted to do was teach. It gets harder and harder to love this career every year. We are awash in edicts – do this, don’t EVER do that. Decisions made from afar by people who seem to have no idea what students are like, what they need. I study more, read [...]
Posts Tagged ‘teaching’
From the Peanut Gallery
Posted in classroom management, tagged education climate, teaching on February 16, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Assumptions that aren’t always bad
Posted in The Craft of Teaching, tagged Angela Maiers, assumptions, high expectations for all, Responsive Classroom, teaching, You Matter on January 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I subscribe to Responsive Classroom’s newsletters and blogs. They usually help to ground me, help me to see and understand my students better. This week’s entry was about Questioning Assumptions. And as a teacher, I know there are too many times when I’ve jumped to a conclusion about a student’s behavior or motivation. And then been [...]
What Matters
Posted in classroom management, The Craft of Teaching, tagged alligators, current times, education, paper management, prime directive, star trek., swamp, teaching, times education on August 31, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It is terribly difficult to keep one’s focus on the things that are important – the “prime directive” for those of us who grew up on Star Trek – no matter what your profession. For me, the prime directive is to encourage children to be curious, to encourage them to take learning risks, to encourage [...]
Purpose
Posted in Braindroppings, The Craft of Teaching, tagged defining your purpose, passion, teaching on August 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
What is my purpose in life? I was asked that question recently and my white glare honest answer is, I’m still working to uncover that answer. My purpose has been defined differently at every stage of my life. At different times, my purpose has been defined by different roles: daughter, sister, wife, mother. Each role [...]
Fasten Your Seatbelts…..
Posted in Braindroppings, Math Education, tagged Common Core, elementary math education, grade 3 math, Massachusetts mathematics frameworks, mathematics standards, teaching, transition to new frameworks on July 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s going to be a bumpy night.” I love this quote from “All About Eve”; and coming straight from Bette Davis’ mouth – well you can imagine the delivery. The more thinking is done about the implementation of the new mathematics curriculum frameworks – the Common Core – the more it becomes apparent that this [...]
Let the testing games begin
Posted in classroom management, tagged MCAS, MEPA, standardized testing, teaching on March 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I have a new definition for “March Madness” and it has nothing to do with playing a sport. This March, we have the following on our docket: MELA-O (ELL assessment), MEPA (ELL written assessment), District Math Benchmark, MCAS Reading, and report cards. And of course there are always assessments for RTI/TAT tracking and reading progress [...]
The Vilification of a Once Respected Profession
Posted in Braindroppings, tagged education, public education, public sector employees, teaching, Union on February 27, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Is there anyone else who is sick of being told they are a money-sucking, taxpayer-draining leech? The amount of misinformation that pops up in comments on newspaper websites, in the press in general, in conversation is head-shaking to me. After reading Joanna Weiss’s op-ed column in today’s Globe, I decided it would be worth sending [...]
Hello, Noah
Posted in Braindroppings, Nothing in Particular, tagged Bill Cosby, education, public education, snow days, teaching, Teaching Life on February 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
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 [...]
Faces of Poverty
Posted in Braindroppings, tagged Appreciation, education, public education, Ruth Payne, teaching, Teaching Life, trauma in the classroom, understanding poverty on January 21, 2011 | 2 Comments »
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 [...]
