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 […]
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 […]
September Invitation: Let’s MGC Our Hearts Out
Dear colleague, This school year, I’d like to invite you into a series of month-long explorations. Whenever I do this, let’s remember a few things: Super simple. Super good. Slow yet steady growth in a reliable direction. That’s what we’re after. For this month’s invitation, check out the video below. (Not seeing a video? Click […]
The Bell is My Boss, Too
Dear colleague, This is the first year I’ve had a “the bell is our boss” poster hanging by my classroom clock, and I should not be as surprised as I am by how many students have commented on it. When I made that poster, the goal was to reinforce the idea that when the bell […]