Blog Posts
Who are your people? I mean, your people at work, your community of like-minded folks who make you laugh and appreciate you. Who are the people who help you muddle through the messiness of our education system and with whom you discover new trails to travel?
Read More.The end of the school year can bring up a lot of feelings for a lot of people working in schools. As we clean out our classrooms, we may come across half-finished projects, stacks of papers we never got around to grading, and files of material that we'd intended on using for a unit on something...
Read More.I know a vacation is coming when stacks of books next to my bed start growing. I've started to notice that building those stacks makes the final weeks of the year easier -- the visual reminder of the upcoming break.
Read More.If I was still in the classroom, I'd divert from the plans I'd etched out for this week and I'd teach a few lessons on justice -- what it means, how it's attained -- by examining something that happened in Guatemala at the end of last week. Something happened in that Central American country...
Read More.Here in California, we're mid-way through the spring testing frenzy. This is a challenging time for many of us working in and with public schools, as well as for kids themselves. I don't like it; all kinds of feelings and thoughts come up for me that don't make me an effective educator.
Read More.Hold on there, Randy Turner. Why are you issuing a, "Warning to Young People: Don't Become a Teacher"? Who are you to declare such a cautionary injunction? I'm annoyed by your lack...
Read More.Like many of us committed to public education, I'm constantly searching for what's working and what can be replicated. This year I've discovered two essential ingredients for any successful school system to be effective. Think of these ingredients as the yeast and flour of any kind of bread --...
Read More.Let me start with this: We need poetry. We really do. Poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience. It can cross boundaries that little else can. April is National Poetry Month. Bring some poetry into your hearts, homes, classrooms and schools. Here are...
Read More.The following is an excerpt from my new book, The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation. It offers a coaching framework and dozens of tools which can used by a range of educators. The following is from chapter one.
What Can Coaching Do for a School?...
Read More.My book, The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation, was released this week. It offers a coaching framework and dozens of tools which can used by a range of educators. The excerpted section below is relevant to all who work in schools as we can all refine our...
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