Blogs on Teacher Leadership

Why is the sky blue? I remember in my physical science class, our teacher showed us a possible reason why the sky is blue. He took a canister of liquid oxygen and poured it out on the table. I saw the blueness of the liquid as it flowed out and then disappeared. Then we talked about color, frequencies, and absorption, reflected and radiated light. I wondered how scientist ever figured these things out? Duh -- math! How can you really teach science without math? It is impossible. Science is the application of math.

In a recent opinion piece for The New York Times, Michael Ellsberg created a stir by asking, "Will Dropouts Save America?" After dropping names of illustrious dropouts -- the late Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg, among others -- he argues that school as we know it does little to prepare students to be entrepreneurs whose creativity will create jobs.

After last week's carnival (see below for previous entries), we now digging into what makes effective professional development. Allison Rowland from Envision Schools describes her and Envision Schools approach to late night fun -- planning deep and engaging PD!

Hands down, teaching children is the most incredible and rewarding occupation that exists. That being said, teaching is a complicated profession for many reasons. There are so many variables that can impact a teacher's year including: class size, administration, supplies and resources, colleagues, class makeup and of course families!