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.
Tag: public education
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Emily Rooney’s Greater Boston panel discussed the connection between a teacher‘s despondency and suicide and a recent LA Times article which ranked teachers by name. One can argue the stupidity of people who don’t understand educational issues and all of the things that impact students. One can argue about the current need to equate education…
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For whatever reason, this group of students is having a heck of a time dialing things back after any unstructured time. I noticed it almost immediately which, given all the other chaos accompanying the first days of school was quite an accomplishment. Some of the problems that are interfering with getting back to work: excessive…
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School started a week ago. I can already see the work ahead of us – and that is NOT a reference to academics. This group of students has lots of trouble transitioning, especially outside of the classroom. And there are a lot of them this year – my class size is at what used to…
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The first weeks of school, as every teacher will tell you, are spent setting up and refining routines. I find our school’s decision to use the principles of the Responsive Classroom provides lots of guidance and reminders on building a classroom community. This morning, I watched a refresher on one of the most basic of…
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I’ve put it off for nearly as long as I dare. It is time to start getting ready for a new school year. Completing my list for summer has suddenly kicked in to overdrive: there’s still much (re)painting to complete, sorting and throwing to do, cleaning and gardening/landscaping. But suddenly, there is a pressing need…
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Summer hiatus is a challenge for me ; I am compulsively obsessed with education. However, this summer I have made an effort and, until today, have left my pile of things to consider in a far corner of our spare bedroom. This week, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved implementation of the…
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It’s a rite of passage, I guess. Yesterday my third graders bumped up to meet their fourth grade teachers. My students were pretty evenly distributed across the four fourth grade classrooms so while they will see some familiar faces next Fall, they will have an opportunity to meet new friends. While my current kids were…
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Our elementary school, like many others, has a moment at the beginning of the day for school-wide announcements. In our school, the Morning Announcement also includes the Pledge of Allegiance and our school’s Learning Pledge. Each morning, coming together as a school community, we recite both pledges together. As you can imagine, sometimes a student…
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The public hearings on the 2010-2011 school budgets begin tonight in Lowell. No one thinks that there is any way the schools will be able to get through the next fiscal year without massive cuts of programs, services and teachers. The last several years the budgets have been decreased and belt-tightening measures have been put…
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This week I was asked at a Team Meeting what I thought about particular student’s participation in MCAS (this student has serious health issues which limit school participation). Was there an alternate way to assess this student that would enable us to know what had been achieved? And that got me thinking about what I…
After An Educator's Journey 