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.
Category: Braindroppings
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The New York Times has a good read today stating what nearly every educator in the U.S. could have predicted: indications showing the beginnings of a teacher shortage in the U.S. Read the article here. According to the author, because there aren’t enough teachers available to hire, urban districts across the U.S. – including Providence, RI right…
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The Daily Five Tip of the Week had a wonderful cover story this week. In it, Lori Sabo writes about the lasting impact Joan Moser had on a former first grader, recent high school graduate. In the end, the former student describes her current self through the books she loves. Beyond the well-deserved thanks that Joan…
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A year ago, my patient spouse and I moved from an exurb to the city of Lowell, MA. Even though we lived in the center of this (formerly) small town, walking was not an easy activity. In fact the walk score for our former address was 24 – meaning most every errand requires a car. In addition to…
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Recently the New York Times published an article revealing some of the back story about standardized test scoring. Read the story in entirety here. Is there anyone else who finds the bar for test scorers a little low? This year our grade level team struggled to standardize both on-demand and project writing samples. Trust me,…
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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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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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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…
After An Educator's Journey 