By Any Means Necessary It gets better. If you’re a new teacher, right about now—October—is when you should be asking yourself, “Dear God, what kind of hideous mistake have I made?” It’s okay. Really. It gets better. I distinctly remember the beginning of my third year realizing I’d made it to November without a crying…
Teacher Tip Tuesday — 18 Oct 2010
The Importance of Being in Error So much of our teaching life is focused on getting students to get the right answers that it’s all to easy to ignore the importance of mistakes. One thing that was rarely—if ever—stressed in my teacher training was self-reflection. How’d the lesson go today? What went right? What went…
Hittin’ the Road
Today I leave for the UK on our first Annual CraftLit tour. To say I’m giddy with excitement is a dramatic understatement. I haven’t been to the UK in ages and this time I get to go with The Husband (and a bunch of crafty bookish types). The husband and I never really got a…
Teacher Tip Tuesday — 9 Sept 2010
Discipline is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. If you are teaching older students, however, you have an option that puts the responsibility right back on the kids. You’ll need to clear this technique with your principal or dean, but it worked for me both in SoCal and in NYC.
Following Your Bliss—Steve Goodier—Guest Blogger
FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS
Who was it that said, “Follow your dream – unless it’s the one where
you’re at work in your underwear during a fire drill.”?
Author Joseph Campbell’s advice was to “follow your bliss.” American
painter Grandma Moses did that. She actually started painting at age
76, after arthritis forced her to give up embroidery. “If I hadn’t
started painting, I would have raised chickens,” she once said.