After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
recent posts
about
Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Author: amybisson
-
Many (many) years ago, I read nearly all of Norman Vincent Peale’s Positive Thinking books. I read them during a dark time: I was struggling with the career for which I had trained (which turned out not to be a match); a spiritual life that was unfulfilling. In need of an epiphany, I ended up watching…
-
This is a tumultuous time to be a teacher – many, many new mandates are arriving this year making for a lot of teacher discomfort as we try to make sense of things. My own personality is that I am an early adopter – not always a good thing I’m sure, but I do tend…
-
I have to touch the third rail: is education today more assimilation into a one-size-fits-all or is it about reaching a baseline of standards for learning? I ask this because lately it seems that there is an underlying expectation that we plan or are given one lesson and asked to apply it to every student…
-
A colleague of mine once referred to No Child Left Behind as No Teacher Left Standing. We laughed – later we cried – and now, speaking just for myself here, we are just plain depressed. It matters not how diligent an educator is about keeping up with research and data, the stream of new initiatives…
-
It is a reward unlike any monetary bonus or plaque. I can’t speak for other educators, but I live for the moment when there is that small, fleeting glimmer that there has been a connection between students and teacher. At this time in the school year, I am still sorting out student learning styles and…
-
It was at the end of our school day yesterday when one of my students matter-of-factly asked if I had heard about “the shooting”. Knowing about the violent incident this past weekend on a street near my elementary school, I waited for her to continue. Which she did. As if it weren’t something out of…
-
If you listen to the pundits, the coming presidential election is boiled down to a single question: Am I better off today than I was 4 years ago? I think it’s more complicated than a “yes” or “no”. Certainly my family’s monetary worth is not better, however, I do not blame presidential policy for this.…
-
The first days of a school year always challenge me. Often, I feel like I’m not, you know, getting anywhere. Last week (northeastern Massachusetts schools often begin before Labor Day unlike many districts inside of Route 123), was no different. As my students came into the classroom I came to the panicked realization that they…
-
The start of school is looming and I am spending some time thinking about how I’d like to change-up some of our learning activities. With all the attention on the Common Core in our District, and with the commitment to Launch-Explore-Summary lesson structures, I am once again tweaking Daily Five for math. The basics of…
-
We are a geek family. There I said it. My husband is a former software engineer now a working photographer. My son is a software engineer. I was an Instructional Technology Specialist (computer teacher) for 5 years. So embracing new technology is kind of fun for me. I like to see if I can break…
After An Educator's Journey 