After seven years of teaching, I will finally get to teach what I entered the teaching profession to teach, social studies and only social studies. I have talked about how my decision to be pragmaticContinue reading
Category: education
A Field Day Story
[Editor’s Note: I wrote this about a month ago, near the end of May. I have gotten a bit lax with my posts and writing for various reasons but I hope to pick that backContinue reading
Avoiding Burnout
A few months ago I wrote this post. Amongst several unfinished, handwritten entries, this one fell through the cracks so I am bringing it back now. Back in early February, I reached an unfamiliar point.Continue reading
Developing Patience
As a child and young adult, I would never have used the word “patient” to describe myself, far from it. I had a low tolerance for others who struggled to finish things at the paceContinue reading
Echo Chamber
Right now, my 8th graders are crafting arguments. We have spent the past few weeks working through various aspects of writing and analyzing arguments, things like the basic parts, types of credible evidence, understanding counterclaimsContinue reading
Unprofessional Behavior
A few Fridays ago, I witnessed some examples of clique-ish, childish behavior amongst my grade level colleagues. I will not describe the events in detail. However, I will summarize them as typical “mean girls’” behaviorContinue reading
A Day in the Life – Teaching through a Pandemic Edition
A week and a half or so ago, I wrote this day in the life. It should illustrate for you the demands on a teacher’s time as well as my own attempt to balance myContinue reading
Like Butter Scraped Over Too Much Bread
Bilbo Baggins best described how teachers and so many people involved in education feel. Teachers already juggle so much but now the workload has doubled or more with this new school year. We have theContinue reading
Gone Too Soon
Nine years ago I taught what I thought would be my last year, only my second year. I taught some cool kids that I remember but only vaguely. I focused on surviving, not building relationshipsContinue reading
Mental Organizing
Over the years I have discovered that I think better when I have a clean, organized space. Even the act of organizing helps relieve mental tension. Yet, many systems in my life still persist thatContinue reading