I'll Give You Something To Cry About
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Lack of fear is not the issue. Lack of trust is.
Read MoreOh Captain My Captain
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You are creating systems, environments, and/or learning episodes for kids who have never had such experiences. And they are showing up, engaging, and learning.
Read MoreGetting Punched In The Face
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Getting lax on getting good at conflict is risky. Over and over in the literature, the teacher-powered folks warn of the dangers of avoiding conflict.
Read MoreAwesomeness Isn't Limitless
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Communication is always at the top of the list of things leaders should and can do better. And I totally agree. It's a constant struggle. But communication isn't just a leadership issue. Pretty much everyone sucks at it.
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Graduation Speech Regrets
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As we all move forward, may we reflect back on this past year and celebrate the things that matter—relationships, growth, and connection.
Read MoreConfessions of a Middle School Love Machine
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Why do we have so many educational practices that promote isolation? Rows of desks, desk-top cardboard dividers, loss of opportunities to connect like recess, detention, suspension, and expulsion. We know kids can't learn when they feel excluded, but still, these practices persist in most schools in the country.
Read MoreToxic Stress At the Intersection of 7th Ave and Osborn
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There are purposeful actions that educators can do to support preventing or alleviating the effects of toxic stress. Research says we can do that by ensuring all students have access to safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments.
Read MoreWorld Domination Starts With Psychological Safety
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As much as we may freak out about our "post-pandemic" students not reading at grade level or being able to compute complex mathematics problems, a much bigger issue is that our kids don't know how to collaborate productively.
Read MoreHow To Not Raise Oedipus Rex
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These are all opportunities to listen, learn, and respond in a way that preserves dignity, creates psychological safety, and then instructs with compassion. Even if the response has to be unpleasant and not what the other person is hoping to hear.
Read MoreUnicorn Race Car Drivers
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The more time kids spend in school, the less creative they get. There are lots of reasons for that, and none of them I blame on actual teachers. Point to packaged curriculum, high-stakes assessments, pacing guides, blah, blah, blah. Yawn.
Read MoreI Wonder What an Axolotl Sounds Like?
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Mr. Rogers modeled curiosity, and he scaffolded it. (Wow, those sound like teacher words.)
Read MoreKeep It In Persepctive
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Our society puts much value, both financially and praiseworthy, on test scores and school letter grades. Be mindful to keep those measures balanced with really does matter.
Read MoreI Mustache You As My Valentine
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"You can't DO what you're passionate about. You find something you believe in, and what you will experience is passion." -Simon Sinek
Read MoreGroupthink
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Most of us do not choose to hang out with people that "fundamentally disagree" with us very often. It's not fun. It can be isolating.
Read MoreThe MCRSD Algorithm
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But if you consider that the first descriptor of our first pillar, Caring Culture, is: "We know our students. From their favorite color to their preferred learning styles, we are in the business of knowing and caring for every one of our students..." That is our commitment to creating a "highly personalized algorithm."
Read MoreA Full On COVID Smack In The Face
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For years we have known that our organizations were running people into the ground. 60-70 hour weeks were looked on as a badge of honor. "First in, last out" people were the ones given the high fives from the boss. The term hustle became associated with people doing whatever it takes to get ahead.
What if the universe looked at all of this and said, "y'all need to chill"? And then smacked us in the face with a pandemic that attempted to do just that?
Read MoreLiving In A Gangsta's Paradise
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I wish I had known the impact I was making on him all of those evenings driving home feeling like I had failed. I was using the wrong assessment to judge myself.
Read MoreWhat We Know To Be True Is, Heroin is NOT Cough Medicine
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Here's the thing, if those philosophical truths aren't getting the results promised, or if they are causing stress and attacking your self-efficacy, it's probably time to let go and move on to something else.
Read MoreThe Hampton Inn Apple Crisp
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Why is it so effortless to focus on what is going wrong rather than on what is right, positive, and good?
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