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The following excerpt is from Seymour Papert's book Mindstorms, published in 1980, yet its relevance to current classroom practices persists. The book is over forty years old and is still as important today as it was in 1980. The passage below speaks to a project Read more
Working for a decade at the Woolworth Corporation gave rise to a plethora of captivating anecdotes. Amid numerous opportunities to bolster the company and foster customer loyalty, none proved as potent as the art of price-matching. However, amidst these tactics, there were occasional encounters with Read more
This is the completion of my official retirement blog. I did exactly what I said I would do. I have a story for every student contact day. I will be branching out a little bit because I still have many stories to share. Stay tuned Read more
We started moving toward one-to-one Chromebooks several years ago. We started with carts in classrooms of 20 to 25 each. I sometimes have moments of OCD and I like everything neatly done. My interns and I set up the carts in the rooms. We started Read more
One of the hallmarks of my business classes was bringing them real-world situations. I told a lot of stories about me and my friends and so I had a series of law stories based on Lakewood. This was not my idea. Rob Shurich before did Read more
The Beach Boys' song Graduation Day is fitting for the last week of the school year. https://youtu.be/ujPojOwEgn8 Another good song: Graduation by Vitamin C https://youtu.be/tz_NxOF7RB4 My wish for the kids by Lee Ann Womack https://youtu.be/RV-Z1YwaOiw Read more
Sometimes we need to serve as monitors for our students. I had a teacher in high school who refused to use my nickname, and his reasoning always made sense. He felt that it was important to honor the student, and using their name instead of Read more
If you know my daughter, please don't tell her I wrote this story about her in high school. All children lie to their parents a little. No matter how virtuous they are there is a fib here and there. My child is no different. We Read more
People need refuge on occasion. I am an introvert at heart and can spend hours just in quiet or with my music. I know my facade is as an extrovert but that is what I do to teach and be in the world. I have Read more
We are in our last week of instruction. This is a time I reflect on what went well and what needs changing for next year. This year I don't have to plan for next year so I will take time to reflect on thirty years. Read more
Another story about Amanda from my elementary days. It was my first week of teaching and I had the principal come into my classroom and ask if I wanted a gifted student. I don't know of any teacher that doesn't want to work with the Read more
These 2 songs were important during my years of high school. We always looked to be free and so we sang Freebird a lot. The other one for this week is the song played by every high school student sing its release in 1972. https://youtu.be/37ALmuMSHEI Read more