Rules Should Serve Kids Not Adults

Today it’s cell phones and backpacks.  Depending upon your generation, it was chewing gum, the length of girls’ skirts, boys’ low-slung jeans and exposed boxers, high school boys with face hair, or checking that every child showered after PE class.  … Continue reading

Do I Teach Subjects to Children or Children to Understand Subjects?  Huh?

“I am a teacher.  I am a licensed social studies teacher.  My teaching assignment is middle school social studies; 7th and 8th grade, to be exact.  These are statements about my profession, my licensure, and my teaching assignment.  They are … Continue reading

Disaggregated, There Is a Vast Difference in Teachers

Teachers are a vast hodgepodge of people.  They come in all colors, shapes and sizes, and from the wide spectrum of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.  At one point, each decided to be a teacher.  Some early in life, the majority … Continue reading

When Trust Is Reciprocal, Great Things Happen

“In my last visits to your classroom, I was not certain I was in a math class.  You and your students were talking about current events on three consecutive days”, her principal told her. “It’s my classroom and I will … Continue reading

Inspired Principal + Teacher Cadre = Change Agency

Effective school leadership is a lonely voyage without collaborating partners.  When a leader understands distributed leadership and emboldens a cadre of like-minded colleagues to use their knowledge and skills to advance a school mission, loneliness turns into camaraderie.  A cadre … Continue reading