I have been thinking about television. Which seems like an odd place to start when I am actually thinking about my students…but here we are. When I was growing up, there just weren’t that many choices. We watched I Dream of Jeannie and The Brady Bunch and later M*A*S*H and The Love Boat. Obviously notContinue reading “I’m Wondering What We Have in Common?”
Tag Archives: writing
Having Been Gutted…I’m a Little Tender
I hurt a student this week and I didn’t know until her mom reached out with the kindest, most heartfelt punch in the gut I can imagine. I hurt her daughter and she wanted me to know it. I had put random and anonymous student responses from a digital worksheet on the screen. There wereContinue reading “Having Been Gutted…I’m a Little Tender”
Efficient Toward What?
I have been thinking about efficiency in public education … and now I am wondering if I am trying to be efficient myself, or if I expect efficiency from my students, my admin, or the larger public education system … or all of the above. And efficient toward what? I started thinking I might writeContinue reading “Efficient Toward What?”
I’m Wondering What Leaves the Classroom?
I’ve been thinking about getting a doctorate. There. I said it. I don’t know that I will. I’m 61 years old, happily teaching high school, and have no particular desire to leave my classroom and become something else. Which does raise the perfectly reasonable question of why on earth I would contemplate doing this toContinue reading “I’m Wondering What Leaves the Classroom?”
Dear students…I might not notice.
That’s hard for me to write. There are a lot of you. Some of you are very, very good at letting me know when you need something. You ask questions. You wave me over. You tell me you’re confused. You send an email. You announce to the entire room that you have NO IDEA WHATContinue reading “Dear students…I might not notice.”
The Practice of Coming Back
It is early in the school year, and I have been thinking about what exactly I am trying to accomplish during these first few weeks. Honestly, we aren’t learning all that much ASL yet. We are learning some, obviously. Names. Classroom language. Fingerspelling. The beginnings of communication. But there is something else happening before theyContinue reading “The Practice of Coming Back”
10 Reasons to Show Up…Every Day
1. You Can’t Learn What You Aren’t Here For Some things can be posted in Google Classroom. A conversation, demonstration, explanation, class activity, ridiculous example that somehow makes the whole thing click? Not so much. Being here matters. 2. Staying Caught Up Is WAY Easier Than Catching Up One missed day can become two assignments,Continue reading “10 Reasons to Show Up…Every Day”
What Does It Actually Mean to Care About a Student? (…and why do I care, anyway?)
I care about my students. That’s an easy thing for a teacher to say…and I hear teachers say it all the time. In fact, I say it all the time. But what does that actually mean? What does it mean to care about someone else’s child …or 30 of them? I don’t think caring aboutContinue reading “What Does It Actually Mean to Care About a Student? (…and why do I care, anyway?)”
