If your school is like mine, your pay is tied to your years of teaching experience. I’m 11 years in, so I’m on the 11th pay scale step at my school. I’m not writing today to critique this method of teacher pay determination. I’m certain that there are better ways to determine how much a […]
Archives for June 2018
“You’re My Favorite Teacher”
This is the worst compliment that a teacher can pay attention to. Favorite isn’t the goal — greatness is. There can only be one favorite teacher in a child’s heart, but there can be dozens of great teachers. If you’re in a position of school culture-building (and all of us are), then you need to […]
What to Do When You Need a Credibility Breakthrough: The Student-by-Student Ground Game
Last time, we looked at the CCP of teacher credibility. Now, let’s examine the top trick I know for building it rapidly. This is useful if you’re new at a school or if you feel like you’re credibility is stagnating. What Kevin Hart taught me about teaching I read a story recently about comedian Kevin […]
The CCPR of Teacher Credibility
Starting out at a new school is hard, whether you’ve got no years of experience or ten. You can bring instructional expertise, nuclear passion, and tomes of knowledge, but when you start at a new school, there’s a big thing you lack: credibility. Is this person a good teacher? That’s the question everyone’s asking, whether […]
The Folly (and Difficulty) of Yes-itis
At the end of this past school year, I reaped the sour fruits of saying yes to too much during the preceding few months. Yes-itis is not a noble condition, despite what 25-year-old Dave Stuart might tell you. Saying yes to too much is the epitome of foolishness; it consigns us to survival mode, where […]