The Mensch [teacher] has a tremendous willingness to learn from everything and everyone. He or she seeks feedback and is not blindsided by unexplored weaknesses. — Bruna Martinuzzi, The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow, p. 54 To be the kind of teacher from whom great teaching tends to […]
Inner Work
The Teacher as a Mensch
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. […]
Simplify Responsibly
Educational “solutions” are often hopelessly complex. This flies in the face of a problem-solving principle you’re probably familiar with: Occam’s razor, or “the simplest solution is the best one.” I don’t mean to be a whiner when I say hopelessly. I just mean that if our objective in the United States is to improve long-term […]
6 Teaching Insights I Gained through Writing a Book
Today’s the day. The book is out. I hope you’ll read it, and I hope it spreads. Let me know what you think. Writing a book on top of teaching ninth grade isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone. It’s taken a supportive spouse, patient kids, and lots of failure. I thought it’d be good to share […]
Asking the Right Question: What’s It For?
When I was the ticking time bomb teacher — the one doing All The Things, reenacting the Hollywood-esque Savior Teacher storyline, rushing like a runaway train toward the inevitable moment when I’d need to quit — one of my problems, maybe my biggest one, was that I wasn’t asking the right questions. My sights were […]