My Thirty-Year Educational Crusade
Please join me in my celebration. Stories will be posted for every student contact day this school year. The first will be elementary stories and will cover my time as an elementary teacher at Montview. The remainder will be stories from my 21 years at Rangeview High School.
One of the important things for a professional is to measure their words. We have all opened our mouths and placed our foot directly in. This is even more important to be aware of if you open your mouth and insert your foot and potentially Read more
I was a member of a small group of innovators that started technology specials in elementary. In our district, we had Carl W, Andy Y, Randy W, and me. It was the opportunity of a lifetime to create something exciting and new. Teaching is built Read more
I had the joy of starting a technology special at Montview. It was a perfect rotation for a year-round school and kept the specialists on a similar schedule. I had kindergarten through 5th grade all year long. I had to develop lessons and work for Read more
With the advent of vaping we are back to this mess. A little old school from Brownsville Station. I like the Motley Crue version but let's go the the original! Read more
Reading and writing is a battleground upon which all elementary teachers toil. It sounds so civilized when said that way. It is a conflict that teachers face every day. Often the battle rages beyond our classrooms. Most cases pit modern or progressive ideas against "I Read more
Names are fun and they can have some humor. One day almost thirty years ago was particularly challenging. A problem that Montview has is the transiency rate of the school. We often had 50 or more kids rotate through our class in any given year. Read more
On day 33 I spoke of a poor role model. I want to now speak of a wonderful role model from the very same conference in Las Vegas. One of the speakers was Bob Villa who was on the show This Old House at the Read more
One of the most important lessons we can teach kids is how to act. I do not mean by constant reprimand but by example and mentoring. I saw something many years ago in Las Vegas that proves my point. I mentioned the trip to Las Read more
A little upbeat Chuck Berry as we get into the rhythm of school for this year. Read more
Teaching in an urban school presents challenges to teaching natural sciences. Luckily we were about 4 blocks from Bluff Natural Preserve. It was easy to take them those few blocks without a bus or any other transportation issues. There was one unique touch to our Read more
I had a cooperating teacher that was very savvy when it came to training me. Student teaching is always stressful but parent-teacher conferences can be the worst. Barb decided I needed to do some of them alone while she sat and watched. She picked my Read more
Presenting in large groups to other teachers is always fraught with danger. You have those in the room who are already experts and attend just to show up the speaker. Others attend who have no idea what they are getting into. The last group Read more