Optimism isn’t necessary when you are making important changes within your school. You are making great things into a reality: I’m not sure I see this message as optimism. It is building people up rather than tearing them down. It is filling them with growth rather than fixing them to a …
An analysis of shadows for Groundhog day: Your analysis of shadows is really wonderful. I love the way in which you have laid out the case for “looking around” and seeing just how large (or small) of a shadow you have cast. Your affect on others is profound, and it …
Should we sell our content to one another? I think we can come up with a better approach: I think you have hit upon something central to “why we become teachers.” I don’t think any of us do this so that we may become rich, however we are trying to …
Children are not “broken” and they do not need to be “fixed”: I think that your thoughts on the “brokenness” of students are spot on. You have identified a belief system that many in education have without acknowledging it. If we believe students are broken and it is our job …
The cognitive load of a teacher is extremely high: I love it when folks bring together disparate points from seemingly unconnected sources, as you have here. I think your comments about cognitive load are apt, as some research says that teachers are making up to 1500 decisions in a single day …
This is what a great PD day at a school looks like: The power of connecting and learning together never ceases to amaze me. I am so glad that you recognized it in the moment and even took a moment to capture some of the collaboration as it was happening …
Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday’s session on using video for reflective practice, growth, and…
It is so wonderful to see how an every day assignment can affect a student’s life and their understanding of themselves: Thank you so much for writing about this assignment and your approach to it. I think you are absolutely right about how much writing and talking there is to …
I like the concept of the Teacher TwitterBrain, a lot: I think there are likely two components as to why this ended up working the way it did: 1. You have created a community as your audience. The people reading your blog or following you on twitter, genuinely care about …
What kind of learning can happen in an “open space”? I found the comparison of home and learning spaces to be quite compelling. While I would never advocate that we treat schools like home in their entirety, I do think there is a lot of value in seeing just how …