It’s been a year since I last posted, and honestly feel like I’m talking to an empty room that once held a handful of people. In the blogosphere, a year is a lifetime. So much has happened in that year, and while I’m not going to rehash all of it, I have to admit that I feel […]
Beyond Teaching
How to overthrow in-service days and up your professional development
Ah, the joy of back-to-school in-service days. The long meetings with agendas set by administration. At least an hour poring over the staff handbook (again). Being the passive receiver of content rather than engaging in or creating it. The double-standard of constantly being told to not teach this way, while enduring it year after year. This […]
Reflecting on my own progress at the end of the first grading period
I love looking back and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. Like giant shoulder pads didn’t work. Flannel shirts and Doc Martens absolutely did. Today I had my students blog about their grades for this first grading period. I’m trying to encourage them to be more metacognitive and reflective, and this time was no different. For […]
How embracing change in your workplace can make you a better teacher
Changes This school year has already been such a whirlwind of change, more than any of the other 12 years prior. Too many teachers have left, positions changing, new responsibilities, new teachers arriving…it’s just so much. This seems to be the year when so many of my colleagues and friends decided to leave their comfort […]
An open letter to myself as a first year teacher
Dear Kim, Congratulations on making it through college and your credential program! I know that you’re going to be a fabulous teacher and really change the lives of kids in a positive way. Also, high five for landing your first teaching job! As your future self, I want to give you some friendly advice for […]
Fostering collaboration and teamwork into your curriculum
This year I want to work on building more engagement into my curriculum, while also fostering teamwork and collaboration. I’m not sure why it took me 13 years to “think” of this! To facilitate this, I’m going to test it out on Fridays. For this first official Friday, I decided to do a team-building exercise […]
