Dear colleague, I just finished recording an interview that I’m excited to share with you later this week. It’s a long-form conversation with a dear friend, and its core themes are curiosity, experimentation, and progress. It got me thinking. At a time of the school year when it can start to be hard to remember […]
Tips for Starting Pop-Up Debates Well
Dear colleague, One of our amazing colleagues wrote a comment on my YouTube channel recently that perfectly describes how to approach your first Pop-Up Debates of the school year. (For more on Pop-Up Debates, see the index of your copy of These 6 Things or this guide.) Here’s what Connie Fletcher said: One of my […]
Using MGCs to Stoke Student Work Ethic
Dear colleague, In my general-level World History courses this year, I’ve started running an “Article of the Day” experiment. Students grab the printed article as they come into class and then: Each of those bullets are skills I’ve been Woodenizing through modeling on the doc cam — again and again and again. I do, you […]
Teacher Transformation: The Two Things It Takes
Dear colleague, During this past summer, I spent much of the time enjoying time away from the teaching and writing grind. But sprinkled throughout that time, I also travelled to schools in Ohio, Michigan, California, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, and Texas. In the midst of that PD work, I realized something about what a good professional […]
Moments of Genuine Connection (MGCs) Can Be EXHAUSTING
Dear colleague, Earlier this week, I invited you to join me in a month of experimenting and playing with Strategy #1 in The Will to Learn: Tracking Attempted Moments of Genuine Connection (MGCs). And today I’m going to write to you about something you’ll find as you work on this: MGCs can be exhausting. An […]