I have (mostly) stopped reading or listening to the news lately, which doesn’t mean I’m uninformed. I (mostly) know what’s going on in the world. There are (mostly) no surprises. History does repeat itself. It is just showing up differently of late. Jaded, you say? Well, yes and, no. What’s happening now, around the world,… Read more

I spent a lot of time today reading through school emails and blog posts. And as I did, I wrote down tips, strategies, and events that I want to keep track of or remember. But I have yet to touch the list of things I would like to cross off my to-do list this weekend,… Read more

Yo enseño en una escuela bilingüe. Los niños aprenden en inglés y en español. La mayoría de mis alumnos solo hablan inglés. La gran interrogante en nuestra escuela y en nuestro distrito escolar sigue siendo: ¿que podemos hacer para que nuestros alumnos hablen cada vez más en español? Para ayudarles a desarrollar su español de… Read more

I keep a daily record of what I call, wins and joys. I include small, medium and large activities that I accomplish every day. Here’s a list of my students’ wins and joys for today. —Students practiced their lines, in Spanish, for a scene in a play that was filmed in the afternoon. —Students read… Read more

After an unpleasant incident last week, my husband reminded me of a simple truth: my classroom is my haven and my students are my North Star. When relationships with colleagues become challenging, my students remind me about why I do what I do. When the world seems to be imploding, I turn to my students.… Read more

As I sit in my car waiting for my son to finish his guitar lesson, I have time to think about all of the things I have on my to-do list and a few more that I need to add. Some days it feels like all I do is change the date* at the top… Read more

I have started journaling every day. Although I’ve always kept a teacher journal, I’ve only occasionally kept a personal journal. My goal is to write a page every day about one thing I’m thinking about or grappling with. In a recent journal entry I wrote about fear, in general, and “being afraid”, more specifically. Being… Read more

About three weeks ago I wrote a blog post about my plan (tweaked from previous years) for finding my #OLW22. Well, in the middle of the best laid plans life tends to get in the way. And, that’s what happened to me. I got pretty sick at the beginning of the month and although I’m… Read more

Every year I try to come up with one little word for the year. A word that will guide my passage through a new set of experiences. A word that will make an impact in my life. A word that will inspire my creative side. A word that will make a significant addition to my… Read more