Teacher as compass: Teachers provide the true north, and help students find a worthy course… one that will challenge their skills on the open learning seas.
Category: Teacher
I have been a fulltime principal for about ten years. A few years back, I took on teaching the sixth grade social studies class at the same time. I wrote…
Teacher and school leader workload is an issue that does not go away and receives a significant amount of attention in the media and in educational publications. Efforts have been…
A variety of teacher evaluation models and methods are used in schools around the world and teacher and school leader attitudes towards them differ considerably. From the teacher perspective, perhaps…
Read More Self-reflection, perhaps the most important component of teacher evaluation
When observing classes in high schools, it is possible to see two extremes of teacher support. Firstly, there is complete hand-holding or, as some teachers would like to say, spoon…
Read More Supporting students with learning core transferable academic skills
by Robert Harris and Thomas Martellone While the following blog entry is not an endorsement of Starbucks over any of its competitors, nor is it a criticism of the current…
There are some traits that I believe stand out above all in great educators and school leaders. These traits typify the ideal of having educators that are lifelong learners striving…
In another post, I presented a case why teachers should seek feedback from their students. In deciding to seek feedback from students, it is important that it is worthwhile for…
Read More 4 pieces of feedback that teachers should collect from their students
I had the opportunity to blog for ASCD this week on a topic that is near & dear to my heart…appreciating teachers. I hope to always retain my “teacher eyes” and…
The other day I was presenting to a small group of teachers and assistant principals on the many hats school leaders wear.
As I was closing, I asked them to look at me. Everyone fixed his or her eyes on my own, and suddenly I was overwhelmed.
I wanted to tell them how much our schools need their leadership…how much our students need men and women who are passionate, caring, determined, courageous, and committed…how we can’t do this without them.
But all I could get out was, “We need you.” And then I was too choked up to continue. Read More Dear Educators, We Still Need You!
One principal’s interview mindset: If you are a candidate interviewing for a teaching position, I want to take a genuine moment to explicitly share what you are up against. As…
Read More How Great Teacher Candidates Interview Differently
The other day I was talking to our high school choir teacher, when she told me about a fascinating brain study involving music. 
MIT neuroscientists have discovered that music triggers an auditory cortex of the brain that doesn’t appear to respond to other basic auditory sounds like speech.
If our brains have portions that only react to sounds recognized as music, this leads to an important question: Are we really engaging the brain most effectively if we aren’t exposing it to music? Read More Triggering the Brain with Wonder
This summer some of our teachers attended Literacy Strategy as part of our before school professional development.
As a follow-up, we invited a Literacy specialist, Shannon Gaines, to spend a day with our teachers observing and providing feedback.
We scheduled half a day to walk her through a dozen classes so that she could observe interactions, lessons, and strategies already in play. Then we met in small groups with teachers for follow-up conversations.
As a school leader, I wanted to know what Shannon viewed as some strengths as well as where we could grow. The feedback was helpful: Read More 10 Easy Literacy Strategies For Engaging Students
There is a belief that children nowadays are natural, “Digital Natives”, and that we adults on the sidelines are “Digital Immigrants”. The dexterity and comfort many children demonstrate when interacting…
I recently had a short conversation about innovation in schools and the constraints that may be placed on teachers preventing much needed new learning and innovation. A point was made…
Over the last few weeks, an outstanding series produced by ARTE called “Do Not Track Me” has become available and is getting quite a bit of social media attention. The…