“What are your burning questions right now?” The first time someone asked me this, I was a fifth year teacher at a group interview in a coffee shop in West Michigan. We were all there interviewing for the Lake Michigan Writing Project’s annual summer institute — four weeks of intensive professional learning with a group […]
The Argument for Earnest and Amicable Argument
Note: I expanded the arguments in the article below and provided practical teaching applications into a full chapter of my book These 6 Things: How to Focus Your Teaching on the Work that Matters Most. When you buy a copy, you directly support my work as a thinker and writer. -DSJR Argument, my dear colleague, […]
The Whirlwind
For the past two weeks, I’ve been meaning to write down every task I complete as I prepare for, teach, and then reflect on my lessons each day. In all the days I’ve tried this, I’ve never gotten further than an hour or so. Once teaching starts, I just can’t seem to find a way […]
Tech for Tech’s Sake Isn’t Good in Our Classrooms
One of my students this fall — we’ll call her Rachel — has a problem with technology. Whenever she’s on a Chromebook, it’s as if her fingers take on a mind of their own. She’s almost never on task when I come around to see the thesis statement she’s supposed to be typing into PollEverywhere, […]
The Secret Skills of Master Teachers: Atomic Habits
Recently, I had the chance to read an advance copy of James Clear’s new book, Atomic Habits. Here’s the thing: I’m not huge into the literature on habits these days. I’ve been fascinated by it before, but I’ve kind of moved on. So when I sat down to read Atomic Habits, it wasn’t because I was intrigued […]
