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: teaching
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Last Friday, just before we dismissed students, one of my charges folded a piece of notebook paper and slipped it into the correction basket. I discovered it this afternoon as I did my Sunday prep for the week ahead. Today was the best day ever. We had popsicals (sic) and extra reacess (sic) and I…
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This morning’s Washington Post carried an Op-Ed piece by Deborah Kenney, founder of Harlem Village Academies. Unlike many charter schools run by large (overseas) conglomerates trying to turn education into cash cows, this charter appears to have pedagogy and students at the center. The question Ms. Kenny poses? Is the Common Core causing school experiences…
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We all need a good laugh – or even just a smile – every so often. Just to remind us of the joy that can be teaching. In the midst of this silly season – this season when there is some hefty assessment going on – I had one of those moments as I corrected a sizable…
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In a past life I was a musician and a music teacher. While I lacked the talent and drive to become a professional musician, music has always been something I’ve enjoyed. In our classroom, when students need to complete a transition from one activity to the other – for example, universal breakfast clean up to…
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A friend of ours posted this article from the Washington Post yesterday. The Post article largely relies on a piece by Arthur H. Camins, and in my opinion rightly so. Mr. Camins explores two essential questions that should be driving the dialogue about education and teaching: when do you persist to do your best and…
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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…
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Today would have been my paternal grandmother’s 129th birthday; she was born in High Falls, New York on May 31, 1883. I do not know much about my grandmother; she died in 1927 when my father was just 9 years old. Yet I sometimes feel a connection. In addition to carrying my grandmother’s name, Elizabeth,…
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Teaching is simultaneously instilling in a child the belief that she can accomplish anything she wants while admonishing her for producing shoddy work. As I read these words in a blogpost by Dennis Hong, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Here in less than 25 words is what we do every…
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All I really ever wanted to do was teach. It gets harder and harder to love this career every year. We are awash in edicts – do this, don’t EVER do that. Decisions made from afar by people who seem to have no idea what students are like, what they need. I study more, read…
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I subscribe to Responsive Classroom’s newsletters and blogs. They usually help to ground me, help me to see and understand my students better. This week’s entry was about Questioning Assumptions. And as a teacher, I know there are too many times when I’ve jumped to a conclusion about a student’s behavior or motivation. And then been…
After An Educator's Journey 