Big Thoughts About Schools, Teaching, and Learning
You know those high school flicks like Mean Girls or Clueless or Freaky Friday or 10 Things I Hate About You? Inevitably someone winds up on the wrong side of popularity and ends up eating lunch in the bathroom. It’s a scene I can completely relate to. But never as a student. The only times …
I mean, besides the obvious fact that there is a teacher shortage in general. Legit, this just happened to me this evening. I’ve been living in my new city for a year, working as a Stay-at-Home Mom. It’s been great, but I feel the time has come to return to the classroom. I miss it …
Are we holding our students hostage by withholding creativity from our students in school? We’ve heard of Google’s 20 percent time. It’s the idea that employees spend 20 percent of their time at work, working on innovative projects of their own choice that they think will most benefit Google. When it comes to school, students, …
I wrestle with this issue a lot. At some point we are all touched by the public school system. Maybe we attended public school. Maybe we live in or commute through a school zone. I’m not sure it’s the best fit for our own children right now, but that doesn’t mean I think public education …
Happy Back to School! Of course many schools have already started, but in honor of the traditional post-Labor Day start, I’m introducing a new series that I hope will be fairly regular on this blog: Humans of the Classroom. These are snapshots by real teachers in the trenches, sharing the highs and lows and realities …
5. I am a little bit lazy. The more I read about homeschooling and unschooling, I can’t believe those parents are accused of being lazy! Homeschooling and unschooling, done right, require a lot of planning and engagement from the parent. Oh sure there are the crazy cultish stories that make the headlines, but the average …
To all the parents, administrators, teachers, and students. Anyone who has a say in education. Please heed this urgent message. iPads and laptops have tremendous potential in the 21st century classroom, but they also threaten to overwhelm the growing brains of our students, and encourage iPhone addiction. Technology is everywhere. But some high-end private schools …
Anyone else have a preschooler who asks questions all day long? Questions like “Why do we die?” to “Why was Hans mean to Anna?” to “What is a chair?” Anyone else want to pull their hair out? My almost four-year-old has been stuck in this phase for months. As an effort to emulate God’s infinite …
If you go on the Internet at all, I’m sure you’ve been pretty bombarded with Facebook ads and articles promising to help you build your side-hustle and make you super productive by 5:00 AM. I’m just going to jump in and share the big reasons I think this pervasive culture of productivity and the pursuit …
Summer 1998. I was thirteen, going into eighth grade. I attended a pretty large nondenominational church in Oregon with a big youth group. That summer they were offering a smaller-group trip to the California Bay Area to visit Great America Theme Park, Marine World Theme Park, the Winchester Mystery House, and Alcatraz. This adventurous introvert …
