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. […]
Fred Rogers, the Teaching Mentor
Dear colleague, Fred Rogers did his job all wrong. As the 60s switched to the ’70s then the ’80s then the ’90s, television programming changed. The world transformed. And yet Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood ended in 2001 almost exactly how it started in 1968. (Here’s the intro to the first and last episodes.) Here’s my point: […]
Got Regrets Yet?
Dear colleague, We’re well into the school year now, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve maybe not done it all perfectly. I mean, SUPER close to perfectly, sure… but not quite. Once in awhile, you find yourself filling up your coffee, looking around your classroom, and thinking, “Man, I wish I had….” Perhaps it’s […]