At present, I'm starting a new year with new students. As I'm looking to the future, I'm thrown back to the past – to all the students who have stepped through this room, have sat in theses seats, have longed to get out of this school. A teacher's character is a collective contribution made by … Continue reading To My Former Students
I love 5% of the “reply all” emails I get at school. Wait . . . I hate 100% of the “reply all” emails I get at school. I only love the 5% of reply alls that get hijacked by my smart ass colleagues who turn them into jokes. Take the day we got notice … Continue reading The 9 Types of People Ruining Your School Email
A second grader made me cringe the other day. I visited my wife's class and a girl was showing the class her pictures from a recent soccer tournament. Someone asked how her team did. Her response? “We got second place. BUT, we actually should have gotten first because the other team cheated and the refs … Continue reading Stop the Blame Game: Teaching Students to Take Ownership
At the end of this year, I had a major thought: I need alcohol. Then, I had a more productive thought: I need a change. You've had those years, right? When the challenges of teaching stalk you like dementors, sucking the life out of your soul? But as much as I've thought about waving goodbye … Continue reading Ready to Quit Teaching? Try Job Crafting First
This final sprint at the end of the school year is always chaos. Between teaching, grading, organizing my hot mess of a room, trying to motivate the end-of-the-year sloths called students, and trying to motivate the end-of-the-year sloth called myself, life is jam packed. However, one thing I will always make time for is connecting … Continue reading Podcasting with Weston Kieschnick
This is part one in a series on nurturing thriving learners from AffectiveLiving and WeAreTeachers. "Why do people go to school?" This is one of my favorite questions to ask my students. “Because we have to,” is usually the first thing I hear. But they know my response to what I call “have-to-ism:” You don't … Continue reading 23 Practices for a Thriving Life
American education has a faith problem. No, I’m not talking about the debates about religion and to what extent it influences schools. I’m talking about the blind, unquestioning faith we have to the god of educational purpose: College. American education is obsessed with college as the answer to all our woes. College will fix our … Continue reading The Cost of Our College Obsession
For all the great educators I've met, including those who are soon to lend their passion and talents to the field. Please share this with an educator you know! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bySSgjbjqqw Huge gratitude to Kevin Romeo, Daniel Juan Martinez and the whole RHINO MEDIA PRODUCTIONS team, as my student volunteers.
Traveling always strengthens and reaffirms my faith in teachers across America. Read on for a reflection I wrote for WeAreTeachers during a recent stint to work with a small village in Alaska. For years I've been teaching. For these same years I've been exposed to conversations about teachers in America. Each day I hear people talk about what … Continue reading Why I have faith in American educators: I see America teaching
It's coming. Soon. Before you know it, we'll be back in school trying to bolster up our mental fortitude for that one reoccurring event that taxes our patience and our joy: The dreaded staff meeting. Soon we'll be jammed into a library or cafeteria, forced to awkwardly create those collegial good vibes and hurrahs. If … Continue reading Survive your upcoming school year with Staff Meeting BINGO!
