The streak is over!
Although I'd gotten one #AprilBlogaDay post in just under the wire, I had not missed a one-a-day deadline.Until now (yesterday, really).Neither the missed deadline nor the 11-day streak leading up to...
View ArticleWhy I teach - Part 1
When I tell people that I teach, the conversation sometimes gets around to the concerned question about how I handle teaching the same thing year after year. Like daily routines and life (or probably...
View ArticlePassion Project(s)
Often when I am making dinner (and probably participating in #engchat or #edchat or writing an AprilBlogaDay post at the same time), there are several pots/pans going at once and the preparation may...
View ArticleSquare peg reply, round hole answer
The simple act of committing to an answer makes the students more engaged and more curious about the outcome. - Chip and Dan Heath in Made to StickThis makes so much sense and I've seen it play out in...
View ArticleThe only thing I may ever be an expert on is how much I don't know
As it turns out, that's been a very liberating realization.After a few years of teaching I hit a comfort zone that put me in cruise control. Things were going well. Why change it up? Courses changed...
View ArticleAre effective lessons like stories and as easy as 124?
There may be much teachers can learn from storytelling to help us in the classroom."When the story contains a surprise, the preceding events will be remembered better than when it contains no...
View ArticleOne small step to elevate the profession
What is one small step I am willing to do to elevate the profession?Based on the number of readers I am getting, it's not these blogs posts! Replacing "small" with "minuscule" (is there a word that...
View ArticleThe biggest issue I've had with tech in the classroom is ...
... the curiosity and ease that led you to read this.In our digital world, diversive curiosity is constantly stimulated by ever-present streams of texts, tweets, etc. that stimulate our hunger for...
View ArticleTo Kill a Mockingbird becomes To Kill a Mojo
We are currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird in my classes. This is the 24th consecutive year I have "taught" this novel and each year I hope to learn from previous years and improve on the...
View ArticleCan a question be the answer?
Freshman quote of the day:Me to class: Reminder - you are finishing To Kill a Mockingbird tonight.Student: To the end?It's interesting how some questions show puzzlement AND complete understanding at...
View Article4 things we have to stop pretending in education
There are five listed here for my April Blog a Day post (#22) but the last one is too personal to be part of the main list.#1 We know the future we are preparing students forYes, there are a lot of...
View ArticleOne more thing we need to stop pretending in education
This only puts me at five so I am allowed to add it! (see yesterday's post).#5 We need to stop pretending that if students can Google it, they do not need to know it.If I tell my doctor a symptom and...
View ArticleTransparency is not a four letter word
A few days ago, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price went on a profanity laced tirade with a reporter about the amount of information he released about an injured player. His main point centered around...
View ArticleA formula for a great "working" environment
This post was written in response to two hashtags: #ILoveMySchoolBecause and #AprilBlogaDayThere are several things that come to mind that I truly appreciate about working at DeMatha Catholic High...
View ArticleIf April showers bring May flowers, what do April bloggers bring?
The response is definitely not "No comment" and also more blogging.Several of those who have been participating in the April blog a day challenge (#AprilBlogaDay) put together by Chris Crouch...
View ArticleWhat is the purpose of a personal public reflection?
There were several reasons I decided to take on the AprilBlogaDay challenge. One of those reasons was my attempt to get over the thought that a blog was basically a written selfie. I kept asking myself...
View ArticleWinding down (or finally getting it?) after 27 posts in 27 days
The biggest fear was the lack of time time so I decided to try keep each post short and simple - one thought - in and out. But that is way more difficult than I had imagined.Seth Godin's post today...
View ArticleWhat I have learned from a year of daily assessments on a deivce
OverviewWith this year's freshman class required to BYOD, one of the things that I decided to do was to have all of my students do the daily assessments on the devices. I chose to use Socrative because...
View ArticleThe worst advice I've ever heard about technology in the classroom
The worst advice I've ever heard about technology in the classroom came out of my own mouth. It went something like "You should do/use/incorporate this because it is great and easy to do."I don't...
View ArticleHow did #AprilBlogaDay impact my practice?
I've often heard that it takes 30 days to develop a habit. From my #AprilBlogaDay experience, that may not be completely true. But it was only by taking part in the challenge that I was able to figure...
View Article3 Things to do BEFORE using Google Classroom
Google Classroom does not do everything (yet!) but it does do several things very well. If you plan to use three of its strongest features (distribute resources, distribute and collect assignments, or...
View Article"Coach, when are we ever going to play someone holding a tennis racket?"
This is the first in a short series of posts about Coach Morgan Wootten’s influence in the classroom for me. It includes thoughts on his coaching lessons but mainly contains reflections on my...
View ArticleBuilding Connections to Legends
Charles "Buck" Offutt spent over 50 years teaching and coaching at DeMatha. While he was nationally recognized as a great coach, I witnessed that Morgan Wootten also incorporated many of the most...
View ArticleWootten started class with a quiz and did it in Hall of Fame form
This is the third in a short series of posts about Coach Morgan Wootten’s influence in the classroom for me. It includes thoughts on his coaching lessons but mainly contains reflections on my...
View ArticleIt takes the right teacher to make a student's winning effort enough
This is the fourth in a short series of posts about Coach Morgan Wootten’s influence in the classroom for me. It includes thoughts on his coaching lessons but mainly contains reflections on my...
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