There’s this Johnson and Johnson commercial that has as its tag line, ‘Having a baby changes everything’. I can remember seeing that commercial while I was pregnant with my daughter (the last time I actually got to really watch TV) and thinking that it was nonsense. And then she was born. And then my son was …
Category Archives: Education
Living the Good Life
In my mid-twenties I went through a bit of an identity crisis. As I was looking around at friends I began to question my worth. I had friends who were becoming doctors, attorneys, city leaders, ecetera and I had settled on teaching. Now before any of my educator friends curse me, I don’t mean ‘settled’ as …
Life as a Three Year Old
Last Friday morning my son had an epic meltdown. There was screaming, kicking, pleading, and running. Why, you ask? Because he didn’t want to get dressed and go to school. As I listened from the bedroom all I could do was laugh. Not only because it was hilarious, but because he was thinking exactly what …
Kids These Days
It seems that for generations, the phrase ‘kids these days’ has been used by adults to describe ‘unruly’, ‘wild’, ‘disobedient’, ‘disrespectful’ youth. From those teeny boppers, to rock-n-rollers, to pants-sagging ‘thugs’, adults-myself included- are quick to question what’s wrong with ‘kids these days’. In the past few days though I’m starting to wonder exactly where the …
Why I Quit the Classroom
Almost four years ago I quit my job as a classroom teacher. I’d always said that I couldn’t understand how a teacher could leave her students in the middle of the school year. How heartless and cold a person would have to be to do that. And then I did it. I became a teacher …
Talk is Cheap
Education Reform. Those two words are thrown around like Pumpkin Spice Latte is from September to December. Neither is cheap and everbody seems to have a different view on them…I’m not a fan of pumpkin. As an educator I’m always interested in what’s being said about how to make education better. From vouchers, to standardized …
Buzzkill
This year I started by 12th year as an educator. It’s been twelve years filled with joy, sadness, victories, defeats…and a lot of buzzwords and phrases. Maybe you’ve heard them…rigor…data-driven instruction…grit…achievement gap…standardized test…accountability…professional learning community…blah…blah…blah. Of all the words I’ve heard there are only three that REALLY matter…because we are, after all, in the business of …
Thank a Teacher
In my five years in the classroom my favorite parent conferences were those where the parents swore their child was a little angel at home. You know them – “Of course Johnny never tells me no”, “I have never had a problem getting Johnny to do what I ask him to do at home”. I …