A norm that I aspire to, however difficult it can be at times is this one: Seek to understand before being understood. I just read a story about an administrator who practices this norm. From Karen S. about a Kindergarten student in trouble in Talking Him Off the Ledge at Talkworthy: “In a few minutes, [...]

Yesterday afternoon was gorgeous – a perfect afternoon for a shopping spree in Montreal, which I hadn’t done in a long while. It’s as if I were a tourist in my own city, since I no longer live in Montreal but lived there for so long. In the very first store I visited (after stopping [...]

Sept. 28: After I wrote this post I decided to create a blog for the Contemporary World Issues class. I’ve now re-posted this and my students are commenting over there: cwi.tracyrosen.com Our Contemporary World Issues class has been talking about the concept of interdependence for the past week or so. We’ve done some individual exploration [...]

This morning I yelled. But big. At my dogs, at my cat, at my house, at my students. I adopted a cat (Betty) a few weeks ago because of the mice. Not into mice. But my big dog (Toby) stalks her and my little dog (Jacob) alternates between ignoring her, stealing her toys, and barking [...]

What a week. I’m sure we all say the same after the first week back with students in September! I had a few 14 hour days last week and this is really the first time my head feels clear enough to reflect on my first week with new students and a new organizational structure at [...]