The year’s winding down. The bulletin boards are starting to come down. Desks are being cleaned out. Awards are being handed out. And for a few fleeting moments, it’s quiet. But before we rush off to the lake or start planning PDs for next year, I want to ask a simple, but loaded, question: What […]
The Work That Works: A Year-End Reflection for Educators Read More »
Every May, when testing season’s dragging on and the copier is jammed for the fourth time before lunch, we get this week carved out to celebrate the people keeping the whole thing together: teachers. The calendar calls it Teacher Appreciation Week. And while the PTA might bring muffins and the administration will definitely leave some
More Than Just Muffins: A Real Take on Teacher Appreciation Week Read More »
Imagine a classroom where every lesson sparks curiosity, every student feels empowered, and every teacher knows exactly how their methods shape learning. This isn’t a distant dream, it’s the potential of evaluative thinking in K-12 public schools. Too often, education operates on autopilot: teachers deliver content, assuming learners will absorb it. “I taught it, now
The Power of Evaluative Thinking: How to Finally Break the “Teach and Hope” Cycle Read More »
Look, I get it. As educators, we’re swimming in data, and Lexile scores feel like a life raft, a tidy little number that promises to show how well our kids are reading. But chasing that number is like trying to catch a cloud: it looks solid from a distance, but up close, it slips right
Stop Obsessing Over Lexile Scores Read More »
There’s a mindset in education that’s easy to slip into and even easier to stay stuck in. It’s the belief that there’s one right way to teach. That if we just commit fully to one method, whether that’s direct instruction, inquiry-based learning, content-first, or thinking-skills-driven, we’ll land on the “best” approach for every learner. But
Stop the “One Way” Mindset & Actually Design for Learning Read More »
Picture this: a classroom buzzing with energy. One learner rattling off facts like it’s nothing. Another stuck on question one, unsure where to start. The difference? It’s not intelligence. Not even effort. It’s what they walked in with. Some show up already loaded: homes full of books, rich conversations, museum trips, story time routines that
From “Lots” to “Less”: Building a Foundation for All Learners Read More »
Last week, I was fortunate enough to visit Ron Clark Academy (RCA) in Atlanta for the 4th time, and each visit reinforces what makes this school exceptional. After visiting, many would think that it’s the vibrant almost Disneyworld-esque campus that makes the magic happen. Some would argue that it’s the eager parents, praying their children
Reflecting on RCA: Unpacking the Magic Read More »
Let’s be honest. For decades, classrooms have been filled with compliant work disguised as learning. Neatly filled-out worksheets, meticulously copied notes, and essays that are polished but lack real thinking. Rows of learners working in silence, heads down, obediently completing tasks designed to check off standards but never designed to spark curiosity, challenge assumptions, or
Are They Working or Learning? Read More »
What if assessments weren’t just something learners had to endure but something they actually used? Imagine a classroom where assessments weren’t about measuring and sorting, but about guiding and growing. A space where learners didn’t brace themselves for the inevitable judgment of a grade, but instead leaned in, eager to analyze, interpret, and act on
Building Assessment-Capable Learners: The Real Key to Growth Read More »
Educators love to talk about learner ownership. We want our classrooms filled with motivated, self-directed, reflective, and critical-thinking learners. We praise initiative. We admire resilience. We celebrate deep thinking. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: we expect these qualities to show up, but do we actually teach them? Do we design learning spaces where they can
