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On Inviting Parents and Students to Professional Learning Opportunities
I recently had an interview with NASSP on a myriad of topics (the whole interview will be available soon), and one of the questions I received was on “engaging parents” in education. I advocated for...
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“Confidence is crucial to effective leadership but so is humility.”
I enjoyed this article, “Why being wrong will make you a better leader.” It has many good points on why leadership is about doing right by those that you serve, as opposed to being seen as an...
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The Wisdom of Those Closest To Students
Recently, I wrote this post on “Personalized Learning Opportunities For Students is a Team Effort,” and asked for feedback and thoughts from educators on how to best empower educators to serve the...
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3 Simple Ways to Help Shift the Thinking of Others
You are passionate about something, and you want others to feel and live your enthusiasm. We have all had that “something” that has meant a lot to us, and we want others to embrace the same ideas....
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4 Ideas to Help Improve Teacher Well-Being
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller One of the things that I say to teachers beginning the profession is that they should be...
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Somewhere in the Middle
I am playing with some ideas in my head, so I am “writing to learn” in this post instead of writing to share my learning. Bear with me as I work through this post. I have been playing around with this...
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Why Teachers Love Teaching (As Shared by Teachers)
I asked the simple question, “What do you love about teaching?” on Twitter the other day. Here are some of the responses: My EAL student (from years ago) whatsapped me yesterday to tell me – quite...
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3 Tips on Dealing with “Teacher-Stress”
There are a lot of tweets on Twitter, or things heard at conferences or in staff rooms, that can make educators feel guilty about how they do their job. I am sure that I am guilty of tweeting or saying...
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The Importance of Value and Purpose
I have discussed the importance of relationships in education and see them as the core of excellent teaching and learning. It is not that I choose relationships over teaching and learning...
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The Patience and Persistence Needed for Our Students
A friend, and former colleague, Les Worthington, wrote the following Facebook post (shared with permission): While standing in line at a store today a young man approached me and said, “Hello Mr....
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3 Important Questions Regarding “Success” in Schools
This article, “9 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life in 9 Short Days,” has some excellent advice that could benefit many, educators and students alike. The first paragraphs on “success” struck me:...
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Human Disconnection
I am sitting in a Starbucks, and focusing on writing. I tend to come to this place because I know the taste of what I am going to drink, and I also know that I can work with people in my vision, but...
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“Tell me what you need to ensure that every student in your class can learn.”
In my post, “Invest in the People that Invest in the Students,” discussing the importance of focusing more “on people” than initiatives and programs, a comment from Catherine Quanstrom stuck out to me:...
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Taking a moment to be kind could make an impact for a lifetime on someone else.
Please take 90 seconds to watch this video (it is SOOOO worth it): Every day, this elderly woman says “hello” to school kids as they pass by her house. When they found out their beloved neighbor was...
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Immeasurable Impact
I have this soft spot for music teachers. It is interesting where you see this massive shift to focusing on “data,” that the arts tend to be cut first when they are needed more than ever. I have a...
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Keeping “Purpose” in the Forefront
I am trying to work through some thoughts, so bear me as it is one of those “write to learn” posts. My daughter Kallea and I are watching the movie Smallfoot (which she loves but basically if there is...
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The Growth from Accepting and/or Ignoring Criticism
I am a total sucker for quotes. I feel short quotes are often like great song lyrics in the way that they tell the consumer a story made for their interpretation in a way that is needed at the...
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This Moment
Picture by Mari Andrew I saw this picture on Imgur by Mari Andrew, and I love it because of the simplicity, yet powerful emotions it evokes. Rough times will always happen, but they will not stay....
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The Trust Default
In a recent workshop, I was asked: “Do you think that kids should just be able to bring phones to the classroom whenever they want?” At the end of the answer, I always share that ultimately, the...
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Simplest Gestures Are Often the Most Memorable
When I was in Grade 4, my teacher, Miss Butler, ended the year by giving everyone a personalized card that wrote about the unique things she saw in me in the classroom. As my parents owned a...
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