Monthly Archives: December 2013

Day 77 (of 184) talkin’ shop Always difficult at ‘after school socials’ like Christmas parties, end-of-year events, etc. is negotiating the subject of ‘talking shop’. I remember the first time I heard the groan ‘do we HAVE to talk about … Continue reading →

Day 76 (of 184) is Education Art? Don’t answer too quickly. One of my ‘pocketbooks’ (the ones I keep on my iPhone for when I have some spare minutes – such as in between the Christmas concerts at two kids … Continue reading →

Day 74 (of 184) thoughts on failure Failure is an option. It has to be. There is a professor at MIT who offers a course on failure. He does that, he says, because failure is a far more common practice … Continue reading →

Day 73 (of 184) patience A frustrated youth came to my office. After he caused a disturbance in class. Then slammed the classroom door. The teacher had texted the play by play, and I opted to wait to see if … Continue reading →

Day 72 (of 184) report cards. Sigh. Why the sigh? In a school where there is enough anxiety that we have made self-regulation a school goal, the periodic reporting of student achievement can be …… nevermind ….. IS a trigger … Continue reading →

Day 71 (of 184) student engagement Today in our school district, a few teachers gathered to talk about inquiry projects around student engagement. It is an interesting conversation – how what and why student engagements in learning is a concern … Continue reading →

Day 70 (of 184) limitations Today is a twitter paradigm day. When I first think about 140 characters I think: that’s plenty. Then I have to edit, twist, and rethink how I communicate. Today was also a fun twitter activity: … Continue reading →

Day 69 (of 184) vision Sometimes random readings bring up some neat discussion ideas. Today I was thinking about what we have done in our learning community in the past year and a half that I was lucky enough to … Continue reading →

Day 68 (of 184) emergencies part deux It was the best of times it was the worst of times….. Feeling good after our Christmas Concert and letter Writing Days were completed, I actually said the dreaded words to my secretary: … Continue reading →