Month: August 2011

Making sense of teaching by starting with why

I haven’t read the book so this isn’t a review or commentary on the book but rather a reflection on the idea of starting with why, which just so happens to be the title of a book as well. When people ask what do you do, you teach. When people ask what do you teach, Making sense of teaching by starting with why

School discipline, alternative schools, race…

Yesterday afternoon I was driving in my truck (I love my cherry red pickup truck) with Jack yodelling from the passenger seat when I tuned in to Talk of the Nation on NPR. They were in the middle of discussing school discipline and inequality and the part I heard had a first year teacher call School discipline, alternative schools, race…

On storytelling…

When I see my life as a story, with all the richness and depth of art, the beauty and serendipity and redemption, the synchronicity of forces beyond my knowing, I understand finally that I am not necessarily the author. From My faith: How storytelling saved my life by Edward Grinnan for CNN

Trusting your teachers should trump tech savvy in administration

Scott asks: Do administrators have to be technology-savvy themselves in order to be effective technology leaders in their organizations? I used to think yes, now I think not so much. What administrators need to be is trusting of their teachers. Technological change happens in the classroom. It won’t happen if it is dictated from above, Trusting your teachers should trump tech savvy in administration

How I motivate my students and manage my classroom without reward systems

Read the following quotes, I’m going to be reflecting on them in relation to my philosophy of teaching and learning around motivation and classroom management and what all of that looks like in my classroom. Babies cry for a reason. It’s never ‘spoiling’ your baby to take his baby’s cries seriously, and to respond to How I motivate my students and manage my classroom without reward systems