I just put the final touches on the final draft of the final manuscript of a book I’ve been working on for what seems like eighty years. It’s the one I’ve mentioned a time or two of late — the one on student motivation. Here’s the title, as best we can figure at this stage […]
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Two Principles for Normalizing Struggle in a Given Classroom
I was recently with the secondary educators of Cache County, Utah,* on what can only be described as a fine Friday of professional development. These folks were just lovely, especially in light of the fact that I was a guy holding them back from their weekend. In one of the sessions, we were looking at […]
High Expectations: An Ingredient, Not a Meal
Sometimes, we secondary educators can get into a funk of believing that we need not teach our students how to best work at learning in our classrooms. Some of us think this kind of work just isn’t something we should have to do; others think that to teach these things would be boring or insulting […]
Common Misperceptions Regarding Moments of Genuine Connection
Dear colleague, Once folks start trying to implement tracking attempted moments of genuine connection (MGCs), there are a few misperceptions that start to crop up. I’d like to publish those today, in hopes that we can nip confusion in the bud before it has a chance to cause us any undue stress or tension. Misperception […]
Such a Doggone Good Feeling
One of my favorite Fred Rogers repetitions — and boy, let me tell ya, do I have a lot — is, “It’s such a good feeling.” What Rogers does with lines like that is masterful, even for secondary educators like me, for at least two reasons I’d like you to think about today. First, he […]