Dear Colleague, I was reading C. S. Lewis this morning and I came across this line: “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out […]
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Let’s Make Teaching Better.
Dave Stuart Jr. is a husband, father, and high school teacher who writes about education. He reads extensively across the disciplines so that he can create uniquely satisfying professional development experiences for his colleagues around the world. His mission is to encourage and equip educators on the journey to long-term flourishing and professional excellence.
Professional development. (The good kind.)
If we’re going to make teaching better, we’ve got to improve professional development. I’m not the guru, but I have spent thousands of hours practicing and researching the art and science of educator-centered, high-impact PD. My hope with all of these is that they help.
And oh yeah: I’m still a teacher. I’ve never left the classroom. With 120 students on my roster each year, it’s impossible for me to detach theory from practice.
Online PD
My schedule-friendly, all-online professional development courses are designed with busy educators in mind. Whole staff or district applications are available — email support@davestuartjr.com with your needs.
In-Person PD
I speak and lead education workshops for a limited number of schools and organizations around the world each year.
Books + Blog
My best-selling book, These 6 Things, has been read and cherished by secondary teachers around the world. My blog is read by over 35,000 educators each month.
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The Latest from the Blog
A Time to Weep and a Time to Love
The other morning before school, I found myself looking at the faces and reading the stories of the people who were killed in Texas last week. I typically try to not to dwell on tragedies like this; a soul handles only so much sorrow before it numbs, and ours is a time awash in cause […]
School Year Shut Down: Dedicate the Year Behind
A few months back during the Five Key Beliefs for Leaders experience, I reconnected with our colleague Martee Lopez-Schmidt, and she shared her experience using Henry Seton’s daily class period dedication strategy. It is a lovely idea for cultivating the five key beliefs (especially Credibility, Value, and Belonging), but alas — I did not have […]
Reframing the End of School Countdown
Over the past year, I’ve been delighted to partner with Alfred G. Waters Middle School in Middletown, DE. We’ve worked on student motivation, teacher motivation, and early career teacher support. Recently, Dr. John Tanner (AGW’s principal) wrote the following message to his faculty that ties in well to the end-of-year thread we’ve been pursuing on […]
School Year Shut Down: Acknowledge a Colleague
All right — time for this week’s first super-simple shot at helping your soul ready for summer. (For the full series, head here.) Here’s the play: Pick a colleague, any colleague. Sit down with a sheet of paper. Brainstorm moments or observations or memories from this year that you’ve appreciated about this colleague. Tell them […]
School Year Shut Down: Fill a Box with Stuff*
Hi there, colleague! Today’s our third in a series mean to help us ready our souls for summer. The full series list is here. Each article is super micro for your stress-reduction pleasure. Gosh — I just LOVE the feeling of a coming summer. Today’s strategy for shutting down a school year: fill a box […]
School Year Shut Down: Rest Your Best
This summer, what if we set out to accomplish something HUGE — something like RESTING at an ALL-TIME HIGH! I explain in this brief video (below, or here if you’re not seeing a video). The idea today is simple, colleague: What would it look like for you to make this summer your absolute best summer […]
School Year Shut Down: Getting Our Souls Ready for Summer
Editor’s note: This article is the first in a delightful series. For the others, click the any of the following: Rest Your Best, Fill a Box with Stuff, Acknowledge a Colleague, Reframing the End-of-Year Countdown, and Dedicate the Year Behind. Dear colleague, Yesterday I took the chance to walk to work. I live close to […]
New Book! 📖 Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Middle and High School ELA
Hey there, colleague — happy Tuesday to you. I hope I find you well. Got a minute for a story? A year or so ago, my editor at Corwin said, “Hey Dave! Want to write a book with Matthew Johnson and Matthew Kay?” The first few words — “Want to write a book with?” — […]
Caren Saunders’ Simple Template for Replying to Students Who Email Her about Improving Their Grade
A month or so ago, I wrote a post on “What I Do When a Parent, Guardian, or Student Emails Me Re: Make-Up Work or ‘How to Get My Grade Up.’” (Nuanced title, right?) One of our colleagues responded to this article with a simple template for replying to students who email her about their […]
Self-Assessment: Paul Graham on Three Traits of Great Teachers
Apparently this is Paul Graham week, colleague. Last time, we looked at a pop-up debate about the value of writing, using a Graham essay as catalyst for the arguments. Today, I want to give you a chance to reflect on what Graham argues makes a good teacher. This isn’t a question he gets asked often […]
A Pop-Up Debate for Helping Students Value Writing
Just the other evening, I was enjoying some (rare) quiet time in my house of four children under twelve by reading from the essays of Paul Graham. I’ve written about Graham’s ideas before (here on procrastination), but as I’ve not brought him up in a couple years, let me say for anyone who’s missed it: […]
EOY Motivation Moves, Part 4: Five Homes, Five Days
Here’s another one that’s worth the labor at the end of the year. It takes 5-10 minutes per day for a week (five days total), and if you don’t finish the intervention feeling at least 1% better about the work you do, then I owe you a cup or a glass the next time I’m […]
EOY Motivation Moves, Part 3: Tell Me Five
Here’s an end-of-the-year motivation move that fits inside of a class warm-up (5 minutes or so) and helps with Credibility (by signaling Care) and Belonging. Tomorrow at the start of class, hand your students a sheet of lined paper and say this: “You know class, I was thinking the other day — wow, the year […]
End of Year Motivation Moves, Part 2 — Work the Roster
Hey there, colleague! Continuing on with the mini-series we started yesterday, let me make a quick announcement and then we’ll get to today’s simple strategy. Announcement/Request: If you’re planning to register yourself or a group for next week’s all-virtual PD day, can you let me know by this weekend? Enrollment is currently low and I […]
Student Motivation at the End of the School Year
Hey there, colleague — how are you doing? We’ve just finished our state testing at my school, and after a couple days of proctoring, I gotta tell ya — I’m ready to do some teaching. 🙂 So here’s the deal. The way I see it, there are two ways to end this school year. Scenario […]