"Rise Above Classroom Walls on the Wings of a Bird" (Originally published at GettingSmart.com on 10/29/12.)Ronald Reagan once said, “There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves...
(The Studio 113 Microphone and John Hardison) "8 Examples of Classroom Musical Magic" (Originally published at GettingSmart.com on 10/14/12)I believe it was J.K. Rowling's Albus Dumbledore who said, "Ah, music. A magic behind all we do here!" This quotation comes to...
(Originally published at Gettingsmart.com on September 28, 2012)I recently wrote about co-authoring and signing project/passion-based learning contracts with my American Literature students. Well, just a few days have passed since viewing the final presentation, and I...
(Originally published at gettingsmart.com)There was a time when my sole purpose for living and breathing, my ultimate dream, was to sign a contract — a contract to play professional baseball. I simply wanted the opportunity to work hard in order to create a better me...
Originally published at gettingsmart.com on August 30th, 2012.The art of teaching sure has changed since I nervously stepped into my first class of thirty-two, energetic students fourteen years ago. I remember feeling pressure from the prescribed...
"Life Is Writing: Two Apps for the Reluctant Writer" (originally published at Gettingsmart.com)I can’t even begin to quantify how many times I have been blessed with the challenge of working with a reluctant writer. During 14 years in the Language Arts classroom, I...