Something I teach my own children, and something we’ve said in this series before, is there are really only 2 things you can control in your life: How you prepare and how you respond. Viktor E. Frankl, the renowned psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, once stated, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to … Read More
AI Skills are Becoming the New Literacy
It feels like things are changing faster than we can keep up with, doesn’t it? Particularly in education, it seems like things are moving so fast that there is no way a textbook can keep up with it all. Heck, even some of the amazing apps we’ve grown to love over the last decade don’t seem to have what it … Read More
The Hardships and Highlights of A Middle School Teacher: A Thank You For ALL You Do!
Teaching Middle School is hard. There are layers and layers of developmental science that teach us educators all about the why’s and how’s and when’s and wow’s of adolescence. Socially, new social circles are emerging. Diverse opinions are converging. Physically and emotionally, young emerging adults feel like roller coasters who are operating at unstoppable and slow moving speeds (that often … Read More
How Do I Know If I Am Ready To Lead A PD Session?
TL;DR: Presenting at an education conference or district professional development day can be scary. You are the only one who can tell your story. You can design professional learning that informs, inspires, and invites change. I still remember the first time I led a teacher professional development session. My district had done a call for presenters for a teacher institute … Read More
Teachers: Take Note of Sunshine in the Winter
We made it through February and here we are in March. March has always been my least favorite month as a teacher. Growing up in Western New York, March is the month where you’re like, done with the snow…but it’s still going to snow. You get teased with a few fair-weather days, but the dirty slush pushed around again and … Read More