Parent Teacher Conferences (Hell Week)

September 15, 2021Posted inWarning: May Cause Inspiration
"You want to know the secret to a good conference? Just be a good listener and trust yourself, because you actually know your kids." -Karl It is Parent Teacher Conference Time and every teacher I know is frantic! We are all putting together our students' assessment reports, designing covers…

She Left Anyways

April 20, 2021Posted inInstructional Coaching, Warning: May Cause Inspiration
I spent last month coaching a new lead teacher, Jenn. She has been collecting observations on her new teaching assistant, Fran, and needed support in problem-solving her next steps as a leader. She mentioned the assistant teacher saying things like, “Don’t cry, you’re a big girl” to a toddler.…

Happy Hand-Raisers

March 22, 2021Posted inInstructional Strategies, Warning: May Cause Inspiration
Picture this. You are sitting in a classroom. Maybe it's an early childhood classroom and all the children are sitting around listening to a story. Or maybe it is an Elementary classroom and the teacher is working with a small group of students solving real-world fraction problems. Or maybe…

Trauma? Depends on your Passenger

March 5, 2021Posted inWarning: May Cause Inspiration
Isn't Trauma the same for everybody? Webster defines trauma as "a deeply depressing or disturbing experience." That seems like such a simple way to define something that is difficult to validate. When we think about trauma, we actually each define it differently. Why can some people be placed in…