Teaching and Coaching
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Beyond representation: lunar new year edition
According to the lunar calendar, the new year begins on January 29 in 2025, ushering in the year of the snake. As this new year approaches, I’m reminded of how I mishandled this important holiday for far too long. Each year, I’d search through my books to pull out the…
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What are we learning
“You know that science project with the planets made of foam balls? That’s what I call a ‘trash can lid project’ because it ends up on top of the trash can when it’s over.” Harsh words from our presenter, but he wasn’t wrong. It made me cringe hearing those words…
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DIY Tool for Problem Solving
Developing independence and agency in my students has been (still is) a challenge for me. How do we make sure our teaching practices set kids up to work on their own without constantly tugging on our sleeves, literally or metaphorically? Not only is this a life skill, it’s something we…
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Stars, turtles, and pigs, or the problem with incentives
I was recently listening to a podcast about Richard Simmons, a fitness advocate and TV personality. If you know, you know. The podcasters described a section of his memoir in which he described a heartbreaking scene of attending a Weight Watchers meeting with his friend’s mom while he was in…
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Why I didn’t write
When I was in third grade, I wrote a series of mystery stories. At home. On my own. It wasn’t an assignment. I just loved reading Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys so it made sense that I would want to write my own version. My stories centered…
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Take a break from homework
Homework, homework, give me a break! Anyone old enough to remember that line from a candy commercial? It’s a line that is etched into my memory, but apparently I attributed it to the wrong candy bar. I thought it was for Kit Kat, but it was actually for Summit bars.…
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Could behavior charts be doing more harm than good?
When it comes to Twitter/X, I tend to be more of a lurker or a read-only participant. So when I do post things, I typically hear crickets. However, a couple of months ago, educator and author Shawna Coppola posted this question: “What did you used to do (and “used to”…
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Reading in community
On a whim last month, I posted a call on Instagram for anyone who wanted to do a book club with me. For almost 15 years I had a book club that read professional development books together, but now that most of the group has retired we’re reading “regular” books…
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What my electric bill can teach us about school awards
Every month the electric company sends me a home energy report along with my bill. This report gives a rating of how efficient your electricity usage was and how you’re doing compared to your neighbors. Every month I look at it with irritation, and wonder, “Who are these efficient neighbors…
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