Allen Elementary was a small school in San Bruno, California. I wasn’t there for very long, but a couple of experiences deeply impacted me and set the tone for my education moving forward. It’s often the little things that stick with kids the most, shaping them in ways they never forget.…
The greatest joy I have is sharing computer science, cybersecurity, & technology with others. The opportunity to share with fellow teachers has always been a highlight but it is a double-edged sword. Teachers who want to lead inservices about technology often ask me for help.…
Yesterday I spoke about thermofax machine. Today I will recycle a blog I did several years ago about the opaque projector. The connection to my current teaching is that we had a Social Studies teacher who was notorious for putting a text on the opaque projector and having students take notes on it.…
If you have been teaching for a long time you will remember the thermofax machine. This made things for the modern invention, the overhead projector. There were three modern machines when I started teaching: the overhead projector, the opaque projector, and the thermofax machine.…
Kids are much more observant than we sometimes give them credit for. I have a short story but the picture tells the whole story. This was not one of my students. I happened to be walking by this young man during finals week on his way to class.…
My last “bad” song. This is always a fear in schools. Many people really don’t know what the song is about until they see the video. Sting (Who was an English teacher) and the Police.
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This is the start of finals week and it is time to let the begging and pleading commence. I like to give production tests where a student creates something. It can be anything from a program, a cybersecurity incident report on an image, or a part and drawing in engineering.…
Teachers feel judged daily by students, parents, administrators, district administrators, the state board of education, state legislatures, and society as a whole. Nothing about that system is going to change. Teachers who spend countless hours railing against this are doing themselves and their students a disservice.…
Another department member was very influential and generous. Cindy Hope was a character and allowed me to do my first traditional business class with Management and Entrepreneurship. She ran the PACE class which allowed students to get credit for working. It wasn’t just a blow-off where you just had to turn in pay stubs.…
We have just completed the Thanksgiving weekend and I will take this time between this and the winter break to be thankful for colleagues. I am a strong advocate of focusing on the students but colleagues build your environment and create or destroy a happy workplace.…
Here is what we try to do as teachers. Take students to heights where they can see all of the possibilities. My favorite line is about chasing their dreams across the star.…
Sharing rooms with others is sometimes challenging. It requires patience, compassion, and consideration. When I started I was in a year-round school and so 4 of us shared three rooms. You were on track for 9 and off for three. It was even better for us because we were in rooms 1, 3, & 5 so we just moved down the hall over the course of the year.…