15 Dec What I Am: A Teacher
Today is my sixtieth birthday. In Chinese tradition, I am told, a person reaching this age begins life anew, starting over as a young child. I love this image of...
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18 Nov Inspiring the Teachers of Tomorrow
One of my most profound written assignments happened when I was in elementary school. I remember it because it happened right after an exciting career day presentation, during which we...
12 Nov Making a Grande Difference in Education
Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, once said that in order for the company to be successful, customers were going to have to have an “experience” with the product. It was...
10 Nov Common Core: A Necessary, But Insufficient, Change In Education Standards
When I first started teaching in 2009, I was surprised by something that was missing from my classroom: We did not have any textbooks for the courses that I was...
27 Oct Keeping Young Teachers in the Classroom
I teach 8th grade and I am 24. When I started in the classroom two years ago, I was not even a decade older than my students. Responses to new,...
20 Oct Geography is NOT Destiny: Charter Schools and Choice
Elana’s mom drives past four different schools to get to ours. “It’s a lot of driving,” she says, “but Elana has a home here.” It has not been an easy...