Me – The User Manual

Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant), author of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, tweeted a link this LinkedIn article by Abby Falik today, “Leaders Need User Manuals – and What I Learned By Writing Mine.” In the article, Falik includes her own User Manual, which includes these headings: My Style What I Value What I Don’t Have … Read more

The Trailblazer

One of my good friends, the incredible @lackeyangie, sent an e-mail about a recent vacation experience, and I asked her permission to share it here.  The implications for education are apparent, especially if you have heard George Couros speak – or read his book, The Innovator’s Mindset. “Hi! So yesterday I had an amazing day! … Read more

Cogs

I love visiting the Kuriositas blog for unusual stories about animals, vivid descriptions of places all over the world, and their incredible video picks.  Yesterday, I discovered the short video, Cogs, on their site.  Directed by Laurent Witz for AIME (an organization dedicated to education equality), Cogs is one of those small packages that deliver a … Read more

How to Talk to Parents

This morning, Edutopia published my post, “New Teachers: How to Talk to Parents.”  I feel uncomfortable giving advice on anything because I certainly don’t consider myself an expert.  Even after 26 years of teaching, I know that I have a lot to learn.  But I have a few Oprah-ish, What-I-Know-For-Sure truths that I have collected throughout … Read more

12 Actions to Maximize the Value of a Teacher’s Time

In my latest article for Fusion, I give advice to school systems, teachers, and parents to help make education more efficient in ways that will benefit the students as well as all of the stakeholders.  Click here to read, “12 Actions to Maximize the Value of a Teacher’s Time.” And, just in case you missed … Read more

No Man is an Island With Pineapples

Our state has a new appraisal system for teachers, and goals for professional growth are a huge part of it.  Within 24 hours on the Twittersphere I came across two great suggestions for helping teachers with this process. First, I read a post by Jennifer Gonzalez on “Cult of Pedagogy.” Jennifer describes something called a, … Read more