Anchors in the Storm
Life is crazy right now. Since the school year started, I have had only one full day to actually sit at my desk and work. The rest of the time I am visiting teachers, meeting with principals, planning PDs (Professional Development) with teammates, presenting PDs to teachers, and somehow trying to fit in all my [...]
Catching Up
Wow! It’s been over two weeks since a post! That’s a record for me. While all of you were lamenting over not being able to read The Iris Chronicles , life around here has been keeping me hopping. Ephraim turned 5 last Friday! We ate out at McDonalds (his choice) for supper that night, and [...]
A Semester in the Coaching Life
An instructional coach, that is. Specifically an English Learners coach. Over the past decade, the school district I work for has adopted a instructional coaching model as part of it’s professional development and push to raise test scores. I can’t speak for middle and high schools, but every elementary school has a Literacy Coach and [...]
I Am Parenting Myself
I had an uh-oh moment today. I realized how much my daughter is going to be just like me when I was a kid/teen. For the most part, I was happy, outgoing, and well adjusted. For the most part, Madeleine is all those things, too. But I was also very emotional (hey, I was a [...]
Coaching Tips I Can Learn From My Husband
Yep, I know it’s hard to believe that I’m taking advice from my husband (we have a pretty competitive relationship, mostly due to my need to be better than). And even harder to believe that I need coaching advice!!?? Well, we are both coaches, after all. He coaches volleyball and baseball and I coach – [...]
That Life-Changing Educational Experience
I just read this great article from the New York Times called “The Educational Experiences that Change a Life.” Fascinating collection of stories from lots of successful people! And my brain started churning . . . what were those educational experiences that truly changed my life? Third grade – We had a claw foot tub [...]
A Day of Firsts
Yesterday involved a couple of “firsts” in my new position as an ELL Consultant. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly: First Model Lesson – I taught my first model lesson for a new ELL teacher to observe. Now, I shouldn’t have been nervous given I’ve been teaching for 11 years, but I’ve got [...]
Who Makes Teachers: Universities or School Districts?
Most people who aren’t in the education field would say colleges and universities. Most teachers would say school districts, or schools, or classrooms. I can testify that most of what I’ve learned about being a teacher has come through the school districts I’ve worked for. While college did prepare me in terms of teaching strategies [...]
A Week in the Life . . .
Steven and I both had to go back to school this week. The first week of school can be the most stressful week of the year for a teacher. Though I was not setting up a classroom this year, by Friday my brain was exploding and my anxiety level was high. Here’s a run-down of [...]
Why Do Teachers Cheat?
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the Georgia teachers busted for changing their students’ answers on achievement tests. Now some Pennsylvania teachers are under fire for it, too. Teachers are held to a high standard by society: they are role models for our children. If a teacher gets in trouble with the law, it [...]
