One of the things that I'm most proud of from the school year that just concluded is our hire of the first teaching fellow at our school. The idea for a teaching fellows program came out of the strategic plan team that I co-chaired, and I am coordinating the program going forward. Throughout the decade … Continue reading What Should the Fellows Read?
Tag: teaching
The Boredom of Summer
I like the rhythm of school year and summer; it's one of the reasons I became a teacher. But even though the summer brings a welcome change of pace, I don't usually hope for unstructured weeks on end. During the school year, my life is segmented into 45 minute blocks and so to wake up with … Continue reading The Boredom of Summer
A Change Would Do You Good
One of my favorite features of Facebook is the Memories tab. I keep a journal, but rather sporadically, so for reminders about what was happening in my life in the past, Facebook is a more consistent reminder of the day to day. There are certainly challenges with this, perhaps the chief being, the difficulty of … Continue reading A Change Would Do You Good
What’s Changed and What Hasn’t?
I'm six weeks into my ninth year of teaching. Part of me misses the sense of it all being fresh and new. One of the things I like about teaching, though, is that there's always a sense of newness and possibility at the beginning of a new year, even if it's not quite as strong as … Continue reading What’s Changed and What Hasn’t?
I Want to Be Famous
Teachers head back for the 2014-2015 school year tomorrow. Students won't come for another week and a half, but even so, it definitely feels like there's a change in the air. It's been a big summer- getting married, transforming my house into our house, a couple short road trips, a week of camp, and a … Continue reading I Want to Be Famous
Tighten Up
A couple days ago Meeno asked a really interesting question on Twitter. I didn't have an immediate answer, but after thinking on it some I think the book I need is Tighten Up: Improving Your Habits and Classroom Practice to Create Richer Learning Experiences. I'd write a book that would be more than how to … Continue reading Tighten Up
Classroom Updates
I haven't blogged as much recently as I would like to, but I did just post updates from my seventh and eighth grade classes on the classroom blog. The Upper School class has wrapped up the student-taught lessons. The final lesson focused on the history of cancer treatment in the US. It was a great … Continue reading Classroom Updates
New School Year’s Eve
Students return to school tomorrow. It's my 27th year of school (21 as a student, 6 as a teacher). Before I head to bed, a couple of adages/goals that I'm hoping to embody for the year. Know and care for the kids. I love kids, but I've found in past years that I've fallen into … Continue reading New School Year’s Eve
Students Engage Each Other
As part of their cumulative project, students in my Upper School (all 11th graders this year) US History class are responsible for researching the development of a particular area of US History and then teaching a class period on the topic. This year I've been impressed by the way students who are teaching have gotten … Continue reading Students Engage Each Other
Seed Catalogs
Teachers head back to school tomorrow. Because we're on a trimester system, the summers feel especially short to me. Ok, they might also feel that way because I tend to pack them full of work and travel. The week and a half before students return is always a challenging time for me. One of the … Continue reading Seed Catalogs
In For Good 