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.
Author: amybisson
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There’s a thought-provoking article in EdSurge this morning. Just who owns a teacher’s intellectual property? My husband, a former software engineer for several large tech companies, always had to sign over his rights to any ideas that he created as part of the hiring process. But educators do no such thing – at least until…
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Our Fourth Graders were charged this year with finding and executing a community service project. Luckily, we needed to look no farther than a small City park about a block from our school. Lincoln Square Park honors our 16th president with a monument erected by Lowell school children in the early 1900s and a small…
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I am a retiring teaching and I am worried. Why? Well, not because of wondering what I’m going to do with myself. I don’t know yet, but that’s okay. What I AM worried about is what will happen to our most needy of student populations. Will a public education be available to those kids? Is…
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One of the joys of teaching elementary-aged students is receiving a card emblazoned with #1 Teacher or similar sentiments. A few weeks ago, one of my students wrote out a card telling me I was “the best teacher on Earth.” I’m not sure I feel about how deserved that honor is. You see, lately I…
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I’ve been privileged to teach in a school that embraced the tenets of Responsive Classroom. If you’ve never been exposed to this program, explore this link. There is a calm sense of purposefulness in Responsive Classroom schools; it begins right from the first days of school when students are explicitly taught expectations for their own…
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This year, one of our efforts as a school community was to engage our students in community service. I personally think this is a great idea, especially for mid-elementary students who can be somewhat egocentric. It’s a big wide world out there! Fortunately for us, our service opportunity was within walking distance of our urban…
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As I checked out of the supermarket this week, I heard someone calling my name. That’s pretty unusual as my grocery store is in the next town. It’s not what you might assume; the next town allows food shopping and wine buying in the same place. I like to call it lowering my carbon footprint…
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This weekend, our grade level was asked to give some feedback on communication, or lack thereof, in our school. As further proof that everything in life can be explained by movies, these lines spoken by Stother Martin in Cool Hand Luke popped into my head immediately: What we have here is a failure to communicate. Communication…
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I can’t be alone in thinking that this stretch of the academic year could be better used. We have been practicing for state tests, administering state tests, and administering district assessments since March. Here we are 2 months later getting ready for the next round of state assessment and end-of-year assessments. If you are ready…
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Our current Assistant Principal is retiring as is our Superintendent of schools. Selection Committees, Blue Ribbon Panels, all are busy vetting candidates to find the best possible match for our school(s). So even though my own career days are numbered (and no one listens to the “old guy” anyway), I have a few thoughts. One.…
After An Educator's Journey 