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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There are no brackets. There are only anxious and tense teachers and students. Stressed to the maximum. And the cracks are starting to show. We are in the middle of our test marathons. Last week it was MEPA – Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessent, given to 15 out of my 22 children to assess their growth…
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I was sucked in almost the very minute we – Adrien and I – went to a talk at the New England Genealogy and History Society’s Library on Newbury Street in Boston. For a while, I would go in to Boston almost weekly and, while Adrien poured over the Drouin Index for his French Canadian…
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In the past week I’ve received two unsolicited email messages “signed” by Michelle Rhee on behalf of some group called “Students First”. You know Michelle Rhee of “Waiting for superman…”, former chancellor of the DC schools. Queen of soundbites. I’ll leave the blow-by-blow rebuttal of her craptastic plans for “improving” education (just send me $10…
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It’s tax time and time for the annual review, in our house at least, of where we spent our monies last year. I usually provide our accountant with a spreadsheet of anything that we can clearly deduct which includes the amount of money I spend on school. Some years that is a painful profess. I…
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It caught my eye immediately as I was scanning yesterday’s Globe: Dr. Jack Shonkoff’s interview. Dr. Shonkoff is the Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. So what is toxic stress and why be concerned. Well, as I’ve recently learned, there impact of cortisol, the brain’s response to stress, cannot be…
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I hadn’t driven on Route 27 for a few weeks. Yesterday, though, driving through Acton and over to Concord, I noticed the gigantic red, white and blue FOR LEASE sign outside of one of the recently (ie within the last 5 years) organic farmstands. It was kind of a shock to me; no one has…
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This time of year – this time of year when commercial excess is encouraged and expected. A time when non-stop advertisement reminds us that in order for it to truly be the “most wonderful time” of the year, we need to open those wallets and warm up the charge cards. This time of year is…
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Recently I heard the most incredulous piece of a conversation that makes me wonder. One of my developmentally delayed students – a child who has a very low frustration point, low self esteem, and the ability to either poke himself in the arm with a pencil or bite himself when that low threshold has been…
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I am in agreement that we need to give students real responsibility for their environment in school. Kids need to be responsible for picking up after themselves, for noticing when papers are on the floor, for taking care of their commonly shared spaces. I get that. However, I read something in several news sources that…
After An Educator's Journey 