Tag: teacher

  • The Art of School Discipline

    (Or: Why Your Kid Probably Isn’t a Villain, But Also Isn’t Perfect Either) There’s a part of me that’s always been a storyteller. I’ve spent years watching the chaos of childhood—my own and others’—and turning it into little stories that make sense of the messy, funny, absurd moments of growing up. I like noticing the…

  • The Noise of Learning

    I used to think learning was supposed to be quiet.Neat. Orderly. Predictable. But in my world, it never sounded that way. It sounded like pencil scratches in the margins of a notebook, screws rattling on a garage floor, the click of a camera shutter, the uneven notes of a song I hadn’t yet learned how…

  • Year 26

    Year 26

    25 years as an educator—and at least a dozen more before that coaching, mentoring, running camps, leading arts programs, and engaging in general kid-centered monkey business (some of which may have included dodgeballs, duct tape, and popsicle sticks). It’s been, quite literally, a lifetime of working with young people—changing lives, dodging glitter explosions, and watching…

  • What Teaching Used to Be —and What We’ve Lost Along the Way

    There was a time—not long ago—when teaching was built on short readings and long conversations. Classrooms echoed with curiosity. Students asked questions. Teachers asked even more.And the best days? The ones when we didn’t rush to answers. Yes, there was some drill and kill—rote memorization, timed facts, spelling tests.But it wasn’t the end goal.It was…

  • More Than Words: How Quotes Spark Conversation and Learning

    More Than Words: How Quotes Spark Conversation and Learning

    There’s something powerful about a well-timed quote. Maybe it’s a line from a movie that lingers long after the credits roll, or a phrase that echoes from history books. Quotes carry weight — and in the classroom, they carry possibility. Over the years, I’ve found that using quotes — from films, speeches, poems, and revolutionaries…

  • No Tricks, Just Routines: A Thought on Classroom Management

    While flipping through an old journal, I came across a question I once jotted down — likely something I heard at a conference: “What is your best classroom management trick?” I smiled when I read it, because I remember my answer clearly — and I stand by it: Tricks and gimmicks for class management eventually…

  • To Teach (and Learn) Is to Be in a Constant State of Reconnaissance

    To Teach (and Learn) Is to Be in a Constant State of Reconnaissance

    To teach—and to learn—is to be in a constant state of reconnaissance.It’s a phrase that’s been echoing in my mind lately. At first glance, it might sound a bit tactical, even militaristic. But in truth, it captures the quiet, intentional vigilance that defines the work of an educator. Teaching is not a static profession. It’s…