September 14th 2011
I find it amazing that every set of classroom rules, developed by either the teacher and/or the students, seems to always begin with respect. As humans (especially teenagers), we all crave respect; Aretha Franklin even spells it out in a song and with pipes no one will ever forget. In a lot of my new [...]
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August 15th 2011
First, I must give credit to Angela Maiers (Twitter handle: @AngelaMaiers) for her blog post “Back to School and R.E.A.D.Y. to Go!” post. As I prepared for my first day of work – pre-planning with my colleagues – Angela’s post went through my mind as a format for my year. So, starting with her base [...]
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August 6th 2011
It’s been a busy week since #RSCON3 … yet I have still wanted to reflect on the professional development I gained from the conference sessions as well as the sessions I hope to hear via archives. As I consider the area of professional development, I must say that I so appreciate meeting Lyn Hilt while [...]
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July 25th 2011
Today began a four-day “induction to teaching” training in our district – Hillsborough County Public Schools. This is (I believe) my 7th year working with our new hires as they embark on their journey as new teachers. Today, I co-trained with a gentleman I deeply respect because of his knowledge, his rapport with people, and [...]
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July 14th 2011
A wonderful part of teaching is the opportunity we have to finish a year, take time to plan, and begin anew the next year. Teaching is like the ultimate performance assessment – everything we don’t get just right this time, we can do it again better next year! One of the areas I always struggle [...]
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March 9th 2011
Goal 19: Avoid Burn-Out “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher First, I would like to apologize for getting behind in our goals. SO … how appropriate is it that our next goal is to “avoid [...]
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February 28th 2011
Goal 13: Help Them Reflect on Their Failures Quote “Don’t look where you fall, but where you slipped.” ~African Proverb I remember the summer I attended the Differentiated Reading Instruction training course. I was so excited because I felt like I finally “got it.” The material was relevant; not only had I experienced differentiated instruction, [...]
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February 16th 2011
Goal #4 … Leave it Behind Everyone can have a bad day. Recall a time when you were stressed, or overwhelmed, or just angry. How did you respond? Did your students notice? What impact did that moment have on learning? Let’s face reality … we ALL have bad days. Yet, let’s consider what is our [...]
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February 13th 2011
Goal #1 … Be a Beam! To be honest, I may use some of the wording, images, and challenges provided by Sherry Terrell and Lisa Dabbs. So please indulge me as I work with you to be an inspiration to those around me. When I thought about the concept of “being a beam,” I thought [...]
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