Dave Stuart Jr.

I was a teacher for ten years. I’ve been a parent for four. When I make mistakes in parenting and wind up with a Whopper Freak Out, it’s almost always because I’m neglecting a basic tenet of good classroom management. So this summer, I’m tightening up on the following, and I hope you will, too. 1. […]

Prior to COVID, I was a pretty low-tech teacher. Any time we could do something analog in my classroom, we did. It was just one less thing that could go awry in a lesson and one less source of distraction for my students. Then COVID happened. Within months, my district was 1:1, and being tech-lite […]

I want to close for the week with something our colleague John Willette wrote the other day. It was his culminating thoughts on an extended PD series we did in my district this year on the science of learning. (The seven-minute intro to that series is here, in case you’re curious.) John’s a sixth grade […]

With summer’s fast approach, the hearts and minds of teachers are starting to linger on the coming-back-together this fall. I’d like to speak a bit into any anxiety you might be feeling right now about your adequacy for meeting the challenges ahead. Let’s talk about gaps. I’ve visited or worked in schools all across the […]

Spoiler: if you’re tired, it’s probably nothing. At least, nothing related to school or teaching. I know you may be feeling that you need to work this summer — after all, there are summer schools to staff and “learning losses” to recoup — but if you’ve been living on that edge between sane and insane, […]

Recently, I received a message from a colleague asking for advice on how to approach the coming school year when the plan at her school is to add more to the schedule than ever before in 2021-2022. I love the question because it’s human. The subtext is, “This year has felt like survival swimming, and […]

Author’s Note: May the 4th be with you. How’d I do on the title? It was between that and These 6 Things Strikes Back. (These 6 Things: A New Hope seemed a little much.) I was talking with my friend Dr. T a couple weeks back, and he said this line that had immediate resonance: […]

Half a decade or so ago, I had a “should I stay or should I go” soul-searching moment. A few respected friends offered me the chance to join their business as a partner. I’d have to earn my share with lots of sweat, but they saw potential in me and had just the right opportunity […]

I’ve sat on this article for over a month — not because it’s long, but because it’s risky. In the last six months, I’ve seen at least three people leave education — people who, prior to March 2020, I had expected to be teaching alongside for the next couple of decades. Two have shifted into […]

There is no doubt about it: when you infuse your practice, your classroom, your assignments, your relationships, and your culture with the five key beliefs, watch out! The refreshing breezes of inside-out motivation are coming, and your class is about to feel a bit more like the life-giving place you’ve always envisioned. It won’t be […]

The older a student gets, the quicker they’re likely to disqualify themselves from what you’re up to. “Oh, we’re doing a math problem? I’m bad at math.” Disqualified. “Oh, this teacher likes writing? Not me.” Disqualified. “Wait, the gym teacher wants us to run? I can’t run. I’m out.” Disqualified. “Wait, all my teachers are […]

The point of telling you this story isn’t to say a thing about me. I’m a normal educator, like you. I do normal work, like you. I’m on a journey to professional excellence, like you. The point is to tell you something about us. The other day I went to the grocery store in town, […]

Community AND content. Humility AND boldness. Curriculum AND instruction. Hard work AND deep rest. The most impactful teachers in the world are masters of embracing paradox. They’ve got an eye for what Jim Collins calls “the genius of the AND.” Where do they acquire this sense for nuance? In their dogged pursuit of first principle […]

So here’s the good news: a lot of teachers have experienced rich, rewarding careers in education, and a lot of teachers are even doing that right now in the midst of all the topsy turvy. On most days, I count myself among this group. Despite its difficulty, this work remains an excellent way to spend […]

(Forgive me if what follows is obvious.) What we’ve called “highly qualified” since No Child Left Behind is not a super useful construct for deciding who should do what in a school building. It’s a way of making sure that the people leading the classrooms once passed enough classes and tests and practica to earn a […]