In high school especially, we fear the embarrassment of wildness. If we encounter a moment of unstructured time or a colleague leading a lesson that appears somewhat messy, we often rely on a simply veiled criticism: “Where’s the learning?”

Read more "Student Shame, Teacher Embarrassment, & Where the Wild Things Are"

Memes and tweets make things easier, but our already threatened authenticity in the high school classroom may not be able to overcome the noise. Here I share my thoughts on it.

Read more "Searching for Sincerity in the Classroom"

In an increasingly divisive culture, I wonder what the consequences are here for schools—how nearness and closeness disguise disharmony.

Read more "Michael Scott, Cage Matches, & School Harmony"

A fixed mindset stops at challenges and accepts them as unchangeable. A growth mindset sees them as obstacles. As teachers, how do we see our obstacles? Do we think they can be defeated? Can we find a way to do it better? How can we get support? Rally our colleagues? Inspire? And do we think it’s worth trying?

Read more "Who Grows the Teacher’s Mindset?"

Before I was a teacher, I was a mediocre student. But I decided to stop being a mediocre student when I read Walker Percy. I feel I only understood it vaguely, but I took away that true discovery only happens if we are rid of others’ influence, especially those of teachers and textbooks. And this seemed so right to me.

Read more "Walker Percy and the “Fight On Our Hands”"

That moment is a big one on of my hypocrite teacher timeline. It’s one of a handful of moments that I can’t “shake.” I was challenging a fixed mindset, challenging their own self-applied limitations. Still, I wasn’t risking anything.

Read more "The Cost of Doing Busyness"

I was a Hypocrite Teacher. A teacher who doesn’t teach as they were taught or as they learned. A teacher who regrets who they were as a student and who struggles everyday to right the wrong that their own past is. A teacher who is ashamed of who they were and who strives to make amends all the time.

Read more "I, Hypocrite Teacher."