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 […]
Warm Self-Critique: A Mark of Great Teachers
If we stick to teaching as long as we ought to, we’re going to make bad decisions — all kinds of them. The key to becoming a wiser teacher, then, is not to aim at making no mistakes, but to learn from the mistakes of this year so that next year we can make different […]
What (and How) I’m Excited to Read This Summer
If I had a few clone Daves, I’d task one of them with reading all the time. Each morning I’d give him his daily ration of coffee, chocolate, and reading material, and then he’d go off to the library or the coffee shop or an empty classroom at my school or in a hammock in […]
You Should Stay in Education for a Long Time, But There Is One Catch
It’s been a whirlwind of change in my small world of late, and it’s led me to reflect on a pair of truths about teaching. If you, too, are in a time of turmoil or tumult, consider the following. First, I think we all ought to make it our goal to commit to education long-term. […]
This Summer, Achieve Something You Care About, and WOOP to Get Started
This post is a little different because it’s a video that I made for you while in my car in a parking lot. It’s sort of a weird idea, but here’s the thing: I’ve had the idea for this article in my brain for a few weeks, but haven’t had the time to sit down […]