Check out my latest, via WeAreTeachers: 7 Tips for Creating a More Positive Mindset in Education.
Category: Motivation
Three Questions Worth Asking
The following is adapted from a 2014 National Honor Society induction speech I was asked to give to the students of Plainwell High School. Read on ’til the end for a personal challenge. ————————————– There’s a saying in education: “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Have you heard this before? I think…
Something Deeper: On Teaching with Heart and the Poetry of Teaching
Teaching is poetry. It’s the creation of something deeper, something sleeping below a classroom structure. Its meaning is buried underneath flash cards and Power Points, grade checks and rubrics. The surface seems simple and direct — we see the quizzes and cold-calls as clearly as pure rhymes. The bells ring and the lines break and we prepare for…
Going beyond grades: Why we HAVE to do better.
What do you think is the lowest G.P.A. I need in order to get into a good retirement home — one of those fancy ones with never-ending soft serve ice cream and Jeopardy tournaments in the common area? How many gold stars do you think I need in order say, “I’m happy”? Oooh, most importantly,…
Four-Horsemen of the Motivational Apocalypse
NOPE! N.O.P.E. I refuse. I won’t. I don’t want to. I can’t. These are the words we teachers loathe to hear, yet seem to hear on the daily. Lack of motivation (amotivation) is one of our greatest plagues on the individual, educational, and societal level. What contexts cause it? And, is there anything we…
The “L” Word: Education’s greatest disease (and no, it’s not Lupus)
Hundreds of yawning, red-eyed students are crammed in pairs, stretching the school gym. A dull hum, like distant locusts, murmurs the space as pencils scratch hundreds of little bubbles. It’s state-test day, and there is an air of anxiety among more than just the students. We teachers have one thought on our mind: “How are…
What Students Really Need to Hear
It’s 4 a.m. I’ve struggled for the last hour to go to sleep. But, I can’t. Yet again, I am tossing and turning, unable to shut down my brain. Why? Because I am stressed about my students. Really stressed. I’m so stressed that I can only think to write down what I really want to…
Why I can’t wait to fail
Why I can’t wait to fail: One man sets out to risk a reputation.
