Tag: teaching

  • Instructions Not Included

    Parenting might be the only job on the planet where they hand you a freshly hatched human being and say, “Good luck,” and then just… leave. No orientation. No handbook. No laminated troubleshooting card tucked into the diaper bag.  You don’t get a user guide that says: If child begins lying, press reset. If child…

  • Anxiety: The Ultimate Inside Job

    When Worst-Case Scenarios Go Rogue… and Happen Only in Your Head I heard this today and it stuck….made me laugh a little if I’m being honest. Anxiety is a conspiracy theory against you… A self imposed conspiracy. That’s actually a pretty clever way to frame it!  It’s like your brain is secretly running a shadow…

  • Factory Settings: Old Model — Advanced Operating System

    I’ve mentioned my ADHD before. My over-caffeinated brain monkeys have made cameo appearances in more than a few of these pieces. For those who know me, you know I’m driven by a motor. My “slow” setting is probably illegal in at least twelve states and two Canadian provinces. To those who really know me, I’m…

  • Yeah, I Told You So

    There’s a side of being an educator we don’t talk about much. At least not in staff meetings. Maybe over coffee. Definitely in therapy. It’s not just about caring. It’s about pattern recognition.  It’s a very human thing. And God knows, the kiddos already think of me as anything but human. In my role as…

  • Using Words Like Paper Airplanes

    Some people write books to tell a story.Others write to document a journey.Still others create fantastical worlds — giving us somewhere to go when we’ve had enough of our own. Me? I think something in me kept whispering, Don’t forget this. The laughter.The small-town summers.The kitchen-table conversations.The quiet lessons nobody applauded — but that shaped…

  • Out of Office… Somehow Still Here

    This past weekend, a group of us got caught up in one of those group texts that starts light — a string of funny memes, a few inside jokes — the kind that makes you laugh out loud in the middle of Saturday morning.  But somehow, almost inevitably, work wormed its way into the conversation.…

  • The Never-Ending Battle (and Why It’s Worth It) – Coffee Not Included

    Having spent years watching kids learn, play, and test boundaries, I’ve learned that patterns repeat—and so do opportunities for growth. I hold the unique perspective of having once been one of those kids: pushing limits, testing rules, and discovering boundaries firsthand—a vantage point that now shapes how I approach my work in schools. Every day…

  • A Conversation With Myself About Authenticity… Ain’t That the Realest Thing?

    Over the years, I’ve sat through more workshops than I can count where the message was simple and bold: Be authentic. Be real. Be yourself. It’s the kind of advice that sounds obvious until you actually sit with it. Recently — on a random Wednesday morning fueled by coffee and overactive brain monkeys — I…

  • To the Beat of the Hallways

    Working at a school—regardless of your position—comes with its own brand of daily adventure.  Teachers plan lessons. Counselors balance emotions. Secretaries manage the pulse of the front office. Custodians keep everything moving behind the scenes.  And no matter how carefully you prepare, there is a predictable unpredictability that comes with working in education. Schedules look…

  • When the Monkeys in My Head Won’t Lay Off the Caffeine

    I am a creative. A creative is someone whose brain refuses to run on standard issue. Creatives run on different batteries. We have our own alternative fuel. We don’t keep the same hours as everyone else. We certainly don’t see the world the same. We notice the odd, the overlooked, the “huh, that’s interesting” moments…

  • Like Molding Clay, But With Words Instead

    When I first started my blog, I had a very clear vision for it. It was going to be my place to offer observations, rapid reactions to issues in education, and—if I’m being honest—to become one of those people other educators sought out for advice, knowledge, and expertise. I tried. I really did. But it…

  • Too Deep for a Tuesday

    I am not a philosophical person—though I do seem to spend a fair amount of time thinking on a philosophical level, which feels like a technicality philosophers would absolutely argue about. To me, philosophy is food for reflection. It’s universal. Every culture has its own way of wrestling with the same big questions about choice,…

  • A Day In The Life

    A Casual, Day-Long Stroll in My Shoes The day starts like any other day.Which is to say: against my will. Weekends are exempt from this story. Those are mythical creatures. Monday through Friday, though? Any one of them will do. If God is feeling playful—and He often is—it will somehow be all five at once.…

  • 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…