Last week, I tweeted an invitation to a free evening PD on student motivation. The title was based on dozens of questions I’ve received from earnest teachers around the planet. Here’s the placard: Within a few moments, an ELA coordinator from the American Northeast tweeted this take: “Um, let’s change the title of this. What […]
The Dumbest Intervention Ever
Last week, our ninth grade intervention team was having its sixth weekly meeting of the year. There have been plenty of times where these meetings depressed me more than inspired me. All four of us are hard-charging, high-belief, high-will, high-skill teachers, but all four of us were struggling with the motivational mountains that seemed lodged […]
A Small Tweak to a Simple Classroom Birthday Tradition (Plus Its Impacts on Motivation)
For years, I’ve been marking student birthdays as follows. Let’s say it’s Hayleigh’s birthday today. During class, I call on Hayleigh and I ask her, “Hayleigh, what is one thing you’ve learned about life?” I record what she shares in a spreadsheet, and after she shares I say, “Happy birthday,” with a big smile. From […]
Keep in Mind that They’re Credible
The next time you read a book or a blog written by a teacher-author, here’s something to remember: the reason that things work in their class is likely just as much a function of their credibility with students as it is a function of the quality of the things they do in their class. What […]
Both Experts and Novices Are Constantly At or Over the Brink of Overwhelm — And Yet Hope Is Not Lost
The default conditions of work in education, whether you’re a teacher or a coach or an administrator, is that it’s overwhelming. There is, and always will be, too much to do. This isn’t a problem faced only by novices. The difference between experts and novices isn’t that experts find a way to do it all […]