Quit Teaching Basics

As educators, we bring an undeniable fire into our classrooms every day. We strive to unlock the potential in every learner, pushing them to become their best selves. But what if we took that same passion—the relentless drive to help our kids succeed—and brought it to supporting our fellow educators? If we truly want to […]

I once heard this in a professional learning session, “Just get them talking,” the presenter said, “and they’ll be learning.” It sounds simple enough. We might ask our kids to “Turn and Talk” to their partner about the reading they just finished and expect fireworks—deep conversations, insights flying across the room. But what we might

We recently celebrated the 4th of July, our nation’s Independence Day. Behind all the picnics and parties, the fireworks and frankfurters, lies the historial the journey of the early American colonies. The founders realized that compliant and passive obedience to the crown was not working. The country needed the ability to make decisions on its

Looking over my 25 years in education, I find we’ve made what we do far more complicated than it has to be. It can be so easy to get lost in the myriad of interventions and support strategies designed to help struggling learners. However, before we dive into specialized tiers of support, we must first

I remember visiting my grandparents every summer growing up. The one nightly ritual my grandmother and I had was a shared game of Uno. It was the first card game I ever learned to play as a kid. Nothing delighted me more than seeing several Skips, Draw-Two and Draw Four Wild cards appear as I

While I always try to be in a constant state of reflection, nearing the end of the school year seems to be one of the times when I get together with others and take a long stare into the mirror of the past academic year. What were the successes? What were the celebrations? What were

When we talk about assessments in education, people usually think of all those standardized tests, number crunching, and chasing after academic goals. I think of the countless data rooms I have walked into filled with pie charts, some even in frames, like a museum of academic data. But this old-school view really misses the mark

I saw my first motion picture when I was 4 years old. It was The Empire Strikes Back. You might have heard of the franchise. It’s still around. Of all the Star Wars movies, I find that this one has the most one liners quoted by everyone. “Do or do not. There is no try.”

So, be honest. We are less than two weeks into the new year. Have you kept the resolutions you made? If so, good for you! Keep it up! If not, don’t beat yourself up. You aren’t alone. Studies have shown that around only 9% of us see our resolutions out to the end. In fact,

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