Recently I was speaking with a teacher who is the lead for a program at her school called 9th Grade Transition. The program seeks to identify the most at-risk incoming 9th graders and support them in their content area classes while also enriching their freshman year with academic skills and strategies. I make a point […]
In a recent article I encouraged educators to help their students get grittier about their learning by taking a moment to celebrate their effort. When we do this, we motivate students to lean in and try harder, even (and especially if) they’re struggling. Students get grittier about their education when they’re acknowledged and celebrated within […]
I was waiting for my flight at the Detroit airport and just before boarding the attendant called me to the counter. I was being upgraded to first class. For the record, I have never been upgraded to first class before, nor since, this flight - and pre-pandemic I flew A LOT! In somewhat of a […]
My education hero is Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed literally changed my life and turned my ideas and aspirations as a teacher on their head. When you engage with Freire you see the world differently. One thing he speaks of is praxis as the interplay between theory and practice. This is important because what […]
Simple, Shared, Classroom Routines During a school visit a few years ago I encouraged the staff to adopt common classroom routines to help their students be more successful. During my presentation to the staff, one teacher challenged me. He felt that committing to common classroom routines school-wide was “taylorism”. This particular teacher made it clear […]
I have the honor of speaking with educators around the country and for the most part, we’re a kind and decent brood. Even if we don’t see eye to eye, we usually let the person giving a talk at a training finish before interjecting. Usually… It was a warm spring day in Oakland, CA, I […]
One day after class, just before lunch, I overheard a colleague consoling a very distraught student. She was sobbing and as the tears raced down her cheeks, I could understand a little of what she shared. My colleague was her Primary Language Biology teacher, which was taught entirely in Spanish. From their conversation it was […]
Just as I realized in my K12 years (and undergrad for that matter), many students approach their education, with no plan. They have no strategy because they lack agency. If you’ve never sat in a classroom with that feeling that everything is going on around you, or happening to you, but you don’t quite understand […]
"Learning sometimes occurs because someone insists that you recognize the excellence in yourself." RIta Pierson In Part 1 of this article I shared the story of when I first believed I could be a successful student. This paradigm shift happened not because I earned an A on an exam or an assignment, or in the […]
“…by making it possible for people to enter the historical process as responsible Subjects (subjects denotes those who know and act, in contrast to objects, which are known or acted upon)…enrolls them in the search for self-affirmation…” Paulo Freire Subjects vs. Objects Growing up I rarely felt comfortable at school or in the classroom. I […]
