I woke up at 2 am, couldn’t fall back asleep, so began to watch Invictus, the story of Nelson Mandela’s call to Rugby to begin healing South Africa in 1995. Watch the film for the final game. I think it’s one of the best EVER. Even though I knew the outcome, I was on the [...]

This post was inspired by this passage from Teachers Should be Seen and not Heard by Anthony Mullen in EdWeek, Jan. 7, 2010. “What do you think?” the senator asked…. …”I’m thinking about the current health care debate, “I said. “And I am wondering if I will be asked to sit on a national committee [...]

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, [...]

Came across this quote on my iGoogle page today: Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. – Peter Drucker I’m reading this in terms of classroom leadership. And in light of the recent conversations about teaching and teachers that have been erupting across the blogosphere. (Read my last few posts to [...]

The more I think about recent conversations around teaching – about why some people leave, and others don’t, about why some choose it over more lucrative or socially respected professions (in some circles) – the more this phrase spins in my head: The quality of teaching is not strained Of course, that was stolen from [...]