The teacher’s lounge. There are few other rooms in a school building that probably evoke the range of feelings as that particular location. The apportioned-off grazing zone for the teacher species. Some sitting in dazed solitude, others coming in for that quick faculty-bathroom run and yet others finding a place to sit in communal (and [...]
There’s plenty of literature out there that describes the woeful situations where teacher evaluation isn’t done well–whether in the recent New Yorker article that describes New York City’s rubber room for teachers in limbo or the article on the widget effect that points out that fewer than one percent of the 40,000 teachers covered in [...]
It was a difficult end to school at one of my middle schools today. The teacher I’m working with went down to do his daily bus duty, helping to shuttle the kids from school to their appropriate buses, to be dispersed homeward bound on a cold,mid-30s winter afternoon. Typically, the routine is for this teacher [...]
Hit the school-visitation cycle today, spending time with teachers and students at an elementary, middle and high school today; the late afternoon capped off with a planning meeting for an informational panel on Peer Assistance and Review programs for this coming February. A full day. Kind of striking to see a similar refrain of student-to-student [...]
A collegial and productive conversation with a school principal earlier today with a few great gems. Qualities to make it into that Words of Men piece, for sure. We were discussing a teacher’s student work board in the classroom and the impression that the principal had of what was currently displayed on it. “Well,” the [...]
“Respect and authority can’t be centralized,” a teacher told me a few hours ago as we walked out of school into the damp weather of a rainy mid-November evening. “It has to be shared [across the building].” A wise observation that struck me. (I kiddingly gave admiring props which were quickly and laughingly rebuffed.) As [...]
Three questions came to mind today. What are the overall school conditions that are necessary to create a positive learning environment for students? What are the qualities and ‘moves’ of a teacher in the classroom needed to achieve those same ends? And how do these determining factors interrelate? Just doing some thinking as I sat [...]
Busy day at three schools today– productive work with fellow teachers across the board. Satisfying to dive into the details of planning that will shape the experiences of students over the next days, weeks and year. I had the whole range represented today as well, working with an elementary, middle school and high school teacher [...]
A moment from an Algebra I classroom this morning (really early this morning, with classes at this particular school starting up at 7:30 AM. Now, there’s just something wrong about that one; awfully early to be directed to a Do Now problem asking for x and y intercepts… heh). The small class is made up [...]
Ignoring the Highlighted Notices That Yes, You Are Breaking The Law
I really enjoyed getting the copy of the math warm up exercises bright and early this morning, as I sat in on a middle school math lesson. The students were chatting among themselves, and then quieted rather nicely as the sheets were passed to them as well. PEMDAS exercises, estimation of square roots and the [...]