Can we just pump the brakes for a minute? I don’t want to go back to “normal.” Normal was a carefully-constructed illusion that things were OK. We went to school every day thinking that all our systems were working just fine, all our kids were getting what they needed, and that the kids who weren’t performing were just not trying hard enough or didn’t have the skills needed to do well in school.
Art, Technology, Pedagogy
Category: blog
Names
I still remember the first time I heard a racist joke and understood that it was a racist joke. I was visiting a cousin who was a teacher. He was talking about some of his students to other family members and laughing about their names. He would list each name using an exaggerated voice sort […]
No, Online Learning Wasn’t a Failure: It Was a Learning Experience
People keep circulating this article from the Wall Street Journal about remote learning. “The results are in” it declares. “Remote learning didn’t work!” Results? Was this an experiment? Funny, I don’t recall there ever being a hypothesis, or any kind of preparation to ensure that the resultant data had any real value. There was no […]
Supporting Equity Through Choice
We all like choices. Walk into any restaurant and you’ll immediately see the appeal of choices. You may see choices in brightly colored and lit-up signs behind the counter, with or without photos. You might see the choices once you have had a seat and are handed a nicely designed menu. There might be sandwich […]
Accessibility
Digital learning spaces are not new to my students. I use them all the time to create a workflow with my students, encourage collaboration, store carefully-curated resources to help students get the most out of the lesson, and to create more equitable learning for a very diverse population of students who have so many different […]
And So it Begins…
Today begins my first day teaching fully online. I sent out a message via Remind.com to the parents I already have contacts for that there will be lessons online, and I’m already starting to see messages trickle in. It’s good to hear from my students and know that they are out there and doing OK. This has […]
It’s Crunch Time
Note: This post was originally published on April 8, 2020, but has been re-posted because of a design issue in WordPress. So, here we are. We are just a few months into 2020 and a global pandemic (COVID-19) has hit. Schools are closing everywhere, and entire regions of the world are shutting down to […]
My motivation
Almost a year ago, I was in Washington State visiting my stepson, and I got the phone call that no parent wants to hear. My Mom called to tell me that my Dad had gone to check on my adult son because he hadn’t responded to a phone call, and found that he had passed […]
Why we need controversy in the classroom.
Ask any teacher about teaching about a controversial topic, and most will tell you to avoid it at any cost. School administrators hate controversy and will often discourage teachers from discussing hot topics in their classrooms at all. Teachers routinely get fired or reprimanded for opening discussion in their classroom about ideas that some may […]
The Digital Bully
I remember my first bullying experience. I was in sixth grade. I was an early bloomer, and much to my embarrassment, needed a bra before any of my friends. I didn’t want anyone to know — it was bad enough having a sore chest from growing in unusual places and from wearing this itchy, uncomfortable […]