Four Ways to Reduce Classroom Risk and Reach the Whole Child – ASCD guest article

Intention is everything, especially when educating and nurturing children. Words matter, and specificity with vocabulary determines whether or not adult interactions with kids have the desired impact. One misguided message many teachers instill in their students is that risk-taking is good. On the surface, this may seem like a worthwhile component of social-emotional learning. Yet …

Enduring the Educational Pendulum: Education Week guest article

After twenty-four years in the classroom, teaching gets tougher for me with every sweeping swing of the educational pendulum. Like clockwork, a “new” strategy or solution is inevitably espoused, everyone eagerly (or forcibly) jumps on the bandwagon, and the poor baby is again thrown out with the bathwater. Occasionally, these shifts are truly progressive and …

A Teacher’s Inside Advice to Parents: radio interview

On Sunday, May 21, 2017, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lamont Patterson and Dr. Matthew Anderson on their excellent World Movement Enterprises radio show. The subject was my book, A Teacher's Inside Advice to Parents: How Children Thrive with Leadership, Love, Laughter, and Learning. As the American Library Association's Booklist said in their review …

A Teacher’s Response to the Trump Election

After nearly a quarter century of educating three generations of public school children, the majority of my former eighth grade students are now of voting age. I therefore take the election of Donald Trump and what he represents very personally. Frankly, I had thought that I, as well as my colleagues across the country, had …

Teacher Appreciation: Moments that Touch my Heart

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I want to share some of the ways my husband, family, friends, and students have made me feel special and acknowledged over these past twenty-four years spent in the classroom. My Husband's Support Without fail, on the very first morning of every school year, my husband secretly tucks a …

The Fallacy of Failure: Getting Growth Mindset Right (ASCD guest article)

Using the word “failure” sends the wrong message to students about what true growth mindset entails. It is time to STOP telling kids to embrace failure and to instead help them persevere through everyday struggles, stumbles, and setbacks while on the way to eventual success. Failure is all the rage in education circles these days—but …

Handling the Toughest Teaching Moments: BAM Radio interview

Check out this short (only eight minutes!) Q&A facilitated by Larry Ferlazzo from Education Week. Two other educators and I discuss how we deal with the toughest parts of teaching: BAM Radio 3/23/17. You can also read my EdWeek article on this subject.

It Takes Strong Adults to Raise Strong Children (Part Four of a Four-Part Series)

Let's dispel a major misconception about motivating and managing kids: Proper, proportional adult leadership is always less about control or compliance and so much more about cultivating willing cooperation and courtesy in children. That said, "compliance" and "control" are not dirty words, and they certainly should not be dirty little secrets when used with adult …

4 Questions Every Parent Should be Asking about School

A parent’s involvement with their child’s education is imperative, but staying informed does not always necessitate visiting the school site. Besides phone calls, emails, social media, and all manner of new apps, there is another crucial way parents can remain actively engaged and intimately apprised about what is going on at school—all without leaving their …

Teaching the Whole Child: The Four Indispensable Aspects of Education

What if the key to narrowing the achievement gap was to focus on closing any serious gaps in student motivation? It is entirely possible for teachers to markedly inspire, influence, and embolden every student, but only when they do so in a manner that honors and embraces the four elemental needs of all children. Imagine …