Tag: teachers

• The Art of School Discipline

  Jan 30

  (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… more ›

• The Noise of Learning

  Jan 29

  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… more ›

• The Algorithm on Main Street

  Jan 23

  In Calexico, stories used to travel slowly. They moved on bicycles and sneakers, through chain-link fences and across dusty backyards. They passed through kitchens where tortillas puffed on comales and… more ›

• Standards, Grades, and Other Things We Pretend We All Agree On

  Jan 15

  I sat through an administrator’s “clinic” the other day—one of those gatherings where the coffee is strong, the chairs are unforgiving, and the words learning standards are spoken with near-religious… more ›

• Coffee First. Then People.

  Jan 9

  Coffee first. Then people. This isn’t a lifestyle choice. It’s a safety protocol.  Somewhere between waking up, getting ready for work, unlocking the classroom door, and logging into email, caffeine… more ›

• Why We’re Holding the Line on Phones and Dress Code

  Sep 12

  As both a parent and a school administrator, I often stand at the intersection of two worlds. At home, I want my own kids to laugh with their friends, make… more ›

• First Days Without Cell Phones in School

  Aug 19

  Over the past few years, it’s become obvious: our students were living in two worlds at once—the real world, and the endless scroll. Heads down, thumbs flying, eyes glued to… 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 ›

• 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 ›

• 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 ›

• More Than Words: How Quotes Spark Conversation and Learning

  Jul 17

  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… more ›

• More Than a Lesson: The True Impact of Teaching

  Jul 17

  Today, as I was accepting invitations to the annual professional development opportunities offered to educators at the start of each school year, I remembered a quote I heard at one… more ›

• Coloring Inside the Lines… and Knowing When to Go Beyond Them

  Jul 17

  “Color inside the lines.” It’s one of the earliest rules we give children when they’re learning how to draw. And in many ways, it reflects a larger idea in how… more ›