Stop and think for a moment about what makes your job easier as a teacher. There are some things you can control, but there are plenty you cannot. And so you are left trying to do your best with the tools you are given. This got me thinking about all the teachers who stop me…
skill builders
The Challenge of Class Size, Part Two
For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. For every outsize class bursting a room at its seams, there’s an equal and opposite small class, begging for intimacy and intensity. As I noted previously, in my third year of teaching I had a class that required every available desk in my room. Thirty-one students….
Four Ways to Encourage Summer Skill-Building
I mentioned in my last post that my wife and I were deep in the throes of making sure our kids stay busy this summer. From a two-week summer road trip to a Saturday afternoon at the natural history museum, we want them to have a memorable summer. At the same time, we want our…
The Unexamined Colors of Summer
Goldenrod, salmon, lilac, buff, aqua. By any other name, they’re still just the colors of fast and frequent handouts coming at the end of the year. Whether it’s for summer camps, sports leagues, or other activities, your students’ backpacks are probably stuffed to bursting this time of year. On the opposite side of the coin,…