(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 23, 2013.)Seated oh so uncomfortably in a rickety, wooden chair and behind a weathered, hand-me-down teacher’s desk littered with white stacks of ungraded essays, I stretched my aching neck and scanned my...
"5 Teaching Habits to Tame Time"(First published here on GettingSmart on 10.30.2014)Something kicks my posterior way too often. It’s a frenemy of mine, you see. Yep, that’s right. FREN-E-MY. Think of polar opposites. Some days are swing and duck, while others are...
"1 Question, 1 Challenge, and 11 of the Best Teacher Gifts"(First published here on GettingSmart on 12.7.2017)Watching my thirteen-year old daughter and my College Freshman son open gifts every Christmas produces such enjoyment for me. I revel in their excitement,...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 23, 2013.)As someone who seeks to make truly blended learning as seamless and ubiquitous as possible, I am constantly on the search for smartphone apps that will help students show mastery of knowledge no matter...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 23, 2013.)Just like many educators, I am always working towards improvement, and my incessant quests for enhanced teaching and professional practices usually stem from a desire for one thing: quality feedback for...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 10, 2013.)After the first four weeks of school, one truth is clear. The majority of my students are not very fond of writing. As a Language Arts teacher and one who writes for enjoyment, I find this alarming. I...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on August 29th, 2013.)I can honestly remember sitting in a high school Language Arts classroom as a sophomore in 1990 and thinking, “Man, there has to be a better way of learning than this.” But I was that pimple-faced,...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on August 13, 2013.)The feedback from Part 1 of “Ordering a Teacher” has been very positive and insightful. The blog has sparked many meaningful discussions, and, in some cases, arguments. All have been fruitful and ultimately...
(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on August 1, 2013.)I have learned the best way to improve my teaching practices is to listen to the people who matter the most…the customers, the students, the ones I serve. It seems the last few years students have been more...