Tag: routine

• But I Just Wanna Play Catch

  Aug 13

  There was a time when the only thing that mattered was whether you could catch the ball. The sun burned hot on your back, the grass smelled like summer and… more ›

• The Glorious Absurdity of the First Day

  Aug 13

  Ahhhh… the first day of school. The crown jewel of the academic year. And this time, it comes after professional learning. Two glorious, soul-crushing days where you learned… well, you’re… more ›

• The Day Camp Diaries

  Aug 11

  When you hear “summer camp,” you might picture kids whisked away in vans, lugging haphazardly packed duffel bags, shipped off to some far-flung campground for a summer of “character building”… more ›

• Morning Ritual: Still Not Funny, Dad

  Aug 6

  Mornings during the school year were something of a production for me. I wasn’t exactly a morning curmudgeon, but I wouldn’t have called myself a ray of sunshine either.  My… more ›

• Espresso Yourself: Why We’re All Just Addicted to Productivity

  Aug 5

  An Over-Caffeinated Reflection on the Hustle Culture Buzz We live in a world brewed for speed—where every second counts and productivity is the ultimate pick-me-up. Like espresso shots in a… more ›

• Will Work for Burritos… and coffee.

  Aug 4

  (Walks on stage holding a coffee mug like it’s a trophy. Sip. Slow nod.) You can tell a lot about a school… by looking at the snack table.Forget the mission… more ›

• Storytelling with a Camera

  Aug 3

  Photography is weird. You’ve got the people who treat their cameras like they’re nuclear launch codes—checking every dial, obsessing over ISO like it’s some secret recipe. Then there are those… more ›

• An Educator’s Love Letter to Liquid Sanity

  Jul 31

  Let’s get one thing straight: coffee isn’t a luxury for teachers. It’s a survival mechanism. A coping strategy. A legal form of self-medication brewed in Keurig pods and staff lounge… more ›

• Year 26

  Jul 31

  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… more ›

• Tales from the Inside: The Usual Suspects (Lounge Cut)

  Jul 30

  It was the Thursday before the first day of school, and the teacher’s lounge had that eerie calm-before-the-storm vibe. You know the one—burnt coffee brewing, the hum of a vending… more ›

• What Writing Looks Like (for Me)

  Jul 27

  I’ve always been drawn to creating things—music, sketches, photos, splashes of color and sound—but writing? That one snuck up on me. I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be a writer.… more ›

• Designing for Redemption: Rethinking Grading and Growth in the Classroom

  Jul 27

  There’s something profoundly human about allowing a student the chance to redeem themselves—but redemption can’t be accidental or symbolic. It must be deliberately built into how we teach, assess, and… more ›

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

  Jul 26

  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… more ›

• What Drives Me

  Jul 24

  Over the course of my life, and career as an educator, I’ve been asked these questions more than once.I remember one time clearly—it was during a workshop on student resilience.… more ›

• Built By Hand

  Jul 20

  There’s something to be said about working with your hands. The whole DIY thing—patching a leaky faucet, sanding down a splintered door, fixing the fence before it falls over—doesn’t get… more ›