Category: Lessons Learned In Combat

The fact that this even warrants a blog post is mind-boggling to me. Tonight marked the third time in--oh, I don't know, two weeks?--when my intelligent, dutiful oldest daughter went to bed worrying about the timed math paper she was going to be forced to complete in school the next day. "We used to be… Continue reading You Should Be Able to Read This Post in Approximately 60 Seconds, Or You’re Stupid

This video, which was created by educational consultant Marc-Andre Lalande, is so fabulous it deserves its own post. I'm posting it here for those of you who, like me, cried while watching Waiting for Superman (and not in a happy way). You will want to watch this thoughtful antidote to the "one-size-fits-all" thinking that permeates much… Continue reading Failing Superman–in a BIG Way

I am so grateful to have an administrator who kicks ass and knows what engaged learning looks like. In all honesty, she's better at spotting it than I am. I say this because, just recently, if anyone else had walked into the classroom where I facilitate a literacy block each week, they would have probably… Continue reading Engaged Chaos

There is a new "f" word being tossed around a lot among my colleagues these days, and its cringe-worthiness is tantamount to that "other" f word that some of us have been known to utter once or twice [daily]: fidelity. I would count myself as one of the "cringers" whenever the word fidelity is uttered, even when… Continue reading The F Word

It's a wobbly analogy, but still. In trying to help the teachers at my school feel a little less overwhelmed by their efforts to differentiate their instruction, their content, their assessment, and their everything else, a kind but (in my opinion) misguided former special education teacher offered her take on the situation. "The teachers at… Continue reading Why Scripted Reading Programs Are Like Crack