Welcome, Mr. Reed!

I want to welcome a new teacher to the profession.  I don’t know him.  I don’t even know where he teaches.  But I know he teaches 4th grade, and I’m pretty sure his students are going to have an awesome year. Mr. Reed made a special music video to welcome his students to 4th grade, … Read more

Teachers as Learners and Students as Leaders

Teacher Katy Delzer spoke at TEDxFargo last year, and eloquently stated a philosophy of teaching that I hope is embodied in my classroom.  Her final sentence summarizes it all: You can view “Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students as Teachers,” here or in the embedded version below.  You may also want to watch some … Read more

Thanks for Helping Me to Smell the Flowers

Looking back at some old notebooks from my younger days, I came across an entry that simply stated, “She said, ‘Smell my flower,’ to me today.” With those three words, I instantly found myself back in 6th grade and recalled the exact moment that seemed important enough to commemorate in my diary. In 6th grade, I lived … Read more

Rock, Paper, and Scissors – Can They Be Friends?

The latest “Be Together. Not the Same” video from Android looks at the relationship among Rock, Paper, and Scissors in a completely different way.  What if they actually use their differences to help others out?  The resulting story delivers a cute message about standing up to bullies and embracing your uniqueness.  The music from St. Elmo’s Fire … Read more

If Money Didn’t Matter…

Powerball tickets can’t be printed fast enough right now.  Everyone has hopes of winning that big prize, of suddenly being in the enviable position of never having to worry about how to pay the bills again. Many people like to dream about what they would do if they woke up one day to learn they have … Read more

Upgrade Your World

In Kid President’s most recent inspirational video, he invites all of us to “upgrade the world.”  What are some ways we can do that?  Be awesome to everyone around us, donate to a local shelter, and help animals are some of his suggestions.  But, as we know, there are many more upgrades the world could … Read more