#blog365

365 Days of Posting

Starting on my birthday last year I started posting something to my blog for each day. Often I backdated if I didn’t have the opportunity to add something as it happened, but things that mattered to me ended up here. This post marks 365 days of sharing something, however insignificant (or momentously significant).

It has been rewarding to have this as one of my daily habits, and I plan to…

15: “Chronic Absenteeism”

Today I participated in a very interesting conference call with the Tennessee Dept. of Education on the topic of chronic absenteeism.  With ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) now the law of the land, one of the big changes is the requirement of a non-academic component to school accountability.  Tennessee has chosen “climate” as it’s measure, and is using discipline and chronic absenteeism as the…

12: The 504 Process

At the beginning of this school year I was at a bit of a crossroads professionally.  In some ways, I had done all that I could in one direction of my career.  I realized it was time for me to set some new goals and direct my learning in other avenues.  One of those ways I have done that this year has been serving as my school’s 504 Coordinator.

(more…)

10: What would you do for your child?

I’m a teacher because I love working with students.  I absolutely believe in the intrinsic rewards of helping young people develop and build their capacity into whatever it is they want to be.  It’s my passion and it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.

With that said, I’ll go to just about any length to make my children’s day.  When I say any length, I really mean it apparently because…

7: Is 1:1 really a good idea?

Today I had a thought as I was walking past a classroom.  We have more devices in our classrooms than ever before.  Even though we are not a 1:1 district, it is very close and I would not be surprised to see it become a reality at the high school level within the next year or so.

I peeked through the window and watched a class of students hard at work on the devices.  The teacher, however, was at…

4: Thank you, Mom

Today is my mom’s birthday, and I think the most fitting tribute to her is to highlight her contribution to my education growing up.  This is a topic I have been thinking about a great deal lately because quite frankly, parental involvement or a lack thereof baffles me.  That I cannot connect with parents I am trying to reach out to just leaves me dumbfounded.

My mom was not that mom. (more…)

Day 2: How Do You Know?

How do you know?  It’s such a simple question to ask a student, yet it can open the floodgates to such rich discussion.  It is easily the best question that I ask every day.   (more…)