Dear colleague, I’ve been wanting to write about the term icky bickies for almost 10 years now, so I guess you could say that writing about icky bickies has become an icky bicky for me. Let me back up. It was early 2018, and I had just finished writing These 6 Things. I was knee […]
The Engaged vs. Disengaged Teacher Modes
Dear colleague, I think there are two ways to live the teacher’s life and that we need a bit of both of them. We Need Both Modes The trouble with my descriptions above is that they’re positioned like categories or identities. You’re either one or the other. You can’t be both. Realistically, though, most of […]
Inner v. Outer Scorecards
Dear colleague, Recently retired Nebraskan Warren Buffett had a fascinating theory regarding the degree to which our behaviors stem from our “scorecards”: The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard. I always pose it […]
Partnering With Reality
Dear colleague, Gardeners don’t make plants grow. Instead, they partner with the reality that plants do grow, especially when you give them proper soil, sunlight, water, nutrients, and so on. But let’s be clear: the gardener does not control the plants. The same is true of teachers and students. When it comes to student motivation, […]
A Simple “Experience Sampling” Method for Making Big Decisions About Your Career or Your Life
Dear colleague, I’ve got a feeling that more than a few of us have contemplated some degree of life or work change here in the 2025-26 school year. Whether it’s a job or a role or a school or a city or a hobby or a haircut, change starts feeling tempting during these winter months. […]