Blogs are just the coolest things, are they not? Each time I think I have my head wrapped around exactly how they might be used best, I stumble upon a diffferent approach…a different use of the tool…that opens up all sorts of new opportunities. I’ve recently assumed a literacy and technology coaching position, and I’ve spent much of the summer learning all that I can about how to help the teachers I will be working…
Over the last several years, I’ve developed a keen interest in the sort of role reversal that places kids at the helm of professional development experiences. Fifteen years ago, I don’t know that I would have been comfortable accepting my students as my teachers. Of course, this was prior to parenting two kids of my own. Now, I find it profoundly humorous that I ever thought I had a choice. Today, I watched my own 8 year old…
Tomorrow we’ll be kicking off the first session of the WNY Young Writers’ Summer Studio, and I can’t wait! Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with the teachers who will be joining our community, and the idea of engaging adults and kids around common goals as writers and learners is really exciting. I think that we are all very comfortable in our roles as teachers at the front of the room. This collaborative model will…
Within moments of our arrival, the pace became something of an adjustment for me. Seriously. “This place feels so far removed from the rest of the world,” Wanda mentioned, and she was right. I imagine that we all had the opportunity to live a bit differently last week. I know that I worked differently as well. Far removed from the frenzy of our daily lives, we found time enough to wonder and plan and revise and share what…
Teaching can be such an alienating experience. I remember leaving the shelter of my undergraduate program and entering my very first teaching position. Suddenly, the expert voices that I had come to rely upon were gone. The friends that I shared my apartment and my student-teaching placement with had moved across the state. That first classroom full of students and my fabulous mentor-teacher? They became pages in a scrapbook……farewell cards tucked into a box that lives on…
Happy Summer! As this is my first one at home in handful of years, I spent the beginning of it on something of a self-imposed hiatus, reading and writing and hanging out with my girls. I’ve also spent some time thinking more about this space and what I would like to do with it for the next few months. Summertime has always meant more time for the things that I love most, including writing. This summer, I…
It’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed in this field that we’ve chosen. There is tremendous work to be done, and whether we’re standing in front of a classroom or leading a professional development initiative, the fact remains: it’s difficult to define all that must be accomplished, let alone find the resources to pull it off. But some people manage to do exactly that, and sometimes, the solutions are incredibly simple. When Niagara Academy took the…
Thank you to Andrea Hernandez and her fabulous students for a very special morning. Laura really enjoyed her Skype session and is already hitting me up for a webcam. Fortunately, I am in the midst of purchasing a new laptop, and the model that I have in mind has one built in. I foresee fun days ahead. Roger’s comment on yesterday’s post makes me smile. It’s always wonderful to receive this sort of feedback from…