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Entries from October 2009

Why I don’t grade homework

October 31st, 2009 No Comments

My latest crop of students are fierce completers of homework and I love it! I’m a firm believer in the need for individual student practice outside of the classroom. However, I’m not a huge proponent of “grading papers” in the traditional sense.
I generally take the time to go over it with them in class the [...]

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The why and how

October 28th, 2009 2 Comments

Kids don’t really want to know why or how things work anymore…only that they work. Our quick fix, instant gratification culture has robbed children of the innate curiosity that gave rise to some of the greatest minds that ever existed.
My current crop of students are all incredibly bright, but not exactly curious. They see information [...]

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Lead an interesting life to be an interesting teacher

October 27th, 2009 No Comments

Way back in the mid to late 90’s when I was a high school student I always hated being in the classes of teachers who had no personal life outside of school. They never had any stories to tell, tangents to go off on, or funny anecdotes to share about why or how they do [...]

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Why we do what we do

October 16th, 2009 No Comments

Sometimes I get so caught up in the whole climb up the ladder in education that I forget why I do what I do.
The kids make everyday worth it. All of the rest of the stuff that surrounds the daily grind in K12 education is secondary.
Gotta love Fridays.

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Asynchronous Teacher Collaboration Tools

October 10th, 2009 2 Comments

Sometimes face to face collaboration between educators just isn’t possible. Over the years I’ve had to be creative in finding solutions to get the work done.
In a previous life I served as math department chair at a small Atlanta middle school. One of our major challenges was learning, and finding the time, to collaborate within [...]

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Almost Famous

October 9th, 2009 No Comments

You can see me for exactly 1 second from the 30-31 second mark. Pretty cool.

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Sleeping with the enemy

October 6th, 2009 No Comments

I registered for my leadership test today. I’ll be able to work as an administrator in less than a year. I’m a bit conflicted about my decision…seeing as how I’ve railed against the evils of so many school administrators. I only hope that I don’t lose sight of what truly matters in this job. Only [...]

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Separate But Equal

October 6th, 2009 No Comments

So, I have since moved on from my former post as a public school math teacher in a “needs improvement” school to a post as a math teacher in a very successful charter school. The major differences between the schools are the student population and school culture. So far, I see no major differences between [...]

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Church and State

October 1st, 2009 1 Comment

I became a teacher because I wanted to help students who otherwise would not reach their full potential. I worked in an under-served community for four years and I used humor, pop culture, and created a feeling of familiarity and informality usually frowned upon in traditional schools. Essentially, I mixed my professional responsibilities, personality, and [...]

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