Dear colleague, In a recent post, I shared this JFK idea that truth is more threatened by myths than by lies. Today I want to share a related thought, not from a notable president, but from a notable Jedi: Mr. Obi Wan Kenobi. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (hot take: the best of […]
Uncategorized
“I Feel Like” We Shouldn’t Say That
Dear colleague, I feel like we say “I feel like” a lot. I remember a wise mentor who was coaching me to clearer thinking in my twenties giving the following counsel: “From now on, I want you to use the word feel in an accurate way. If you have a feeling, such as anger or […]
“The Full Use of Your Powers Along the Lines of Excellence”
Dear colleague, In June I went on a PD adventure to BC High, an all-boys school in Boston. While I was there, I noticed the JFK Presidential Library was in walking distance and, having time to spare, I made the trip. My favorite takeaways from the library were a couple JFK one-liners. I’ll share one […]
The Personal Best Tracker (Google Doc)
Dear colleague, Sometimes I like to get my students to keep track of the quantity of work they’re doing in my class. As I wrote about in These 6 Things, the first step to improvement in an area like reading or writing or speaking is often quantification: what is our current quantity of work (e.g., […]
The One-Pagers I Wish I Had Ten Years Ago
Dear colleague, For years now, I’ve grappled with the difficulty of efficiently helping folks who are trying to get started with my work. I mean, imagine being at this point in the school year — still a week out from spring break for me — and needing *something* to help with teacher overwhelm and classroom […]