If you are reading this, chances are you already know one thing about my work. If I had to sum up everything I believe about education and our jobs in the profession, it would be just one word: Intentional. My fervent belief is this: If we as educators are intentional in two things, we will […]
What a Tier 1 Framework Does & Does Not Do Read More »
The longer I find myself in education, visiting classrooms, working with schools and learning from other educators, I keep coming back to one word that may help us all turn things around: intentional. I think we say we are being intentional, and at the beginning of an initiative we might be. But, if we are
“You Can Plan a Pretty Picnic.” Why Intention Matters in Schools Read More »
The conversation tends to start in a couple different places. It can be in the car during the ride home. It might be at the dinner table in between mouthfuls. It might even be right before the light switch is clicked off at bedtime. At some point, the question passes from parent to child regarding
What We REALLY Should Be Asking Our Kids About School Read More »
Do you want to know what one of my wife’s pet peeves about me is? She says that I, “Watch the same things all the time.” By that, she is referring to the fact that if there is nothing else on, and there happens to be a reliable, staple movie on television, I’ll keep it
A School’s Guide to Renovating Learning Read More »
Summer, with its heat and humidity ever rising, has me perspiring but also pondering our work in schools. Teachers, when it comes to what’s happening in your individual classrooms, be a thermostat. Leaders, when it comes to what’s happening in your schools, be a thermostat. Being a thermometer does no one any good. Let me
Be a Thermostat, Not a Thermometer Read More »
I’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of educators and leaders about engagement. What it is. What it looks like, How to make it happen in the classroom. This also drives a lot of what folks look for when trying to figure out if what’s going on in the classroom is effective or
Engagement or Learning? What Do We Look For? Read More »
Sometimes the way we try to figure out some of the root causes of the challenges we face at school reminds me of the old street hustle you may have experienced in person in a big city or have seen in the movies. You know the one I am talking about with the nutshells and
Stop Playing the Guessing Game: Fix Tier 1 Read More »
Remember that scene in Walk the Line, when Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash walked into the recording studio to play for the first time for Sam Phillips. The first attempt did not go so well, and Sam’s reply to Mr. Cash helped bring a little perspective to the situation. “All right, let’s bring it home.
Success Criteria on the Daily, the ONE Thing. Read More »
Recently, a post of mine on Twitter got some attention. It was related to clarity in learning and the vast majority of opposing viewpoints centered around the use of Learning Targets. Many were concerned with primarily two things in relation to Learning Targets in the classroom: 1. It’s mandated use by administration. 2. The value
Let’s Talk about Learning Targets Read More »
When it comes to what we do in the classroom, we have to stop and think about the true purpose of why we are there. I know when I first started out as a high school English teacher, I thought the job was to go into class, do my best Mr. Keating, and inspire, lead,
Are We Seeing Evidence of Learning? Are We Doing Things to Look for It? Read More »
