So……now what? Seriously. Scores have improved in many of our local schools over the last several years. What does that even mean anyway?
If all of the professional development initiatives teachers have been a part of, all of the learning community work they’ve participated in, and every formative assessment they’ve “given” students inside of classrooms [...]
Over the last few weeks, Temple Grandin has come up in conversations everywhere I’ve traveled. Mostly because I keep bringing her up. Inevitably though, someone in every circle has heard of her, attended one of her presentations, or shared her story with others for a wide and interesting variety of purposes.
I’d never heard of her, [...]
….is to accept people exactly as they are.”
Carl Rogers
…….especially if you haven’t had the opportunity to do it in the past. I’m working with quite a few teachers in different places this year who feel very much out of their element when they are asked to teach kids how to write. Sure, “all teachers are teachers of writing,” and I know that most [...]
At NYSEC last week, I had the good fortune to drop into Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski’s session. Listening to these men speak to the joy they were able to reclaim for themselves as they worked on a project that made them feel 13 again was beyond inspiring. I took away something much more important [...]
“…you are teaching yourselves how you will live and work. Early habits take up residence and are difficult to evict later on.” Jim Burke
I spent a chunk of this weekend getting inspired by the different approaches my favorite edubloggers are taking with back-to-school posts. The start of every year is filled with such incredible [...]
I have a confession to make.
Last year, when my daughter made honor roll, I didn’t rush right out to the garage to slap the celebratory bumper sticker onto my car. Instead, I quietly displayed it on our refrigerator the day that it arrived in the mail, and reminded her, once again, of how proud she [...]
The weather was distinctly fall-like this weekend. We just returned from a week in Allegany State Park, where I sat beside a campfire with my husband and reflected on the year behind us in anticipation of the year ahead of us. Every so often, a lanky young woman would wander past us and stop for [...]
Identifying and nurturing future teachers of writing is one of the greater pursuits of the WNY Young Writers’ Studio. To that end, we’ve created internship opportunities for veteran fellows who are in high school and interested in pursuing a career in education or writing. We’ve also opened assistantships to veteran fellows who are in middle [...]
…I wore flip flops in a downpour and realized that rainy summers aren’t so bad after all. John spent the day making gelato with Laura, and Nina and I went to the salon to chop our hair short. As I’m writing this, I can hear the girls bickering in their bedroom, which is right above [...]