To be called a Mensch is the greatest compliment one can give you. –Bruna Martinuzzi, The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow, p. xiv Every time I pick up Bruna Martinuzzi’s little book, The Leader as a Mensch, I’m given a mark that’s well out in front of me. […]
The Positive Parent Phone Call
Armed with the following, it’s possible that a three-minute phone call can make your year with a given student. You just need: a specific thing/event/anecdote that you appreciate about the student in question; the right “bent” — humility, appreciation — for working well with parents (a whole post on that here); and a working phone […]
Sane Educators = A Good Strategy
If you settle on the idea that the point of schools is the long-term flourishing of kids, you get to explore all kinds of interesting territory — in your own practice and in your teams (department, PLC, school). The opportunities for earnest and amicable professional arguments — loaded, of course, with paraphrasing and evidence and encouragement […]
“Hang Up Philosophy”: A Note on Philosophies of Education
When I was graduating from my teacher preparation program, I remember writing a “Philosophy of Education” statement in Microsoft Word. It had a cool font, and I printed it on cool paper. You looked at the thing, and you were like, “Dang. This guy.” So impressive… until you read it. That’s when you realized it should […]
“Worksheets Are the Worst”
It’s common enough to hear a well-meaning teacher use language like this: Worksheets are the worst. There should be zero worksheets allowed in schools. Only bad teachers use worksheets. In one sense, I get it. When a class period becomes nothing more than a teacher distributing worksheet after worksheet to keep kids busy, that class […]